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STUDIES OF FAMOUS BIBLE WOMEN 















A New Method for Bible Classes 


By HENRY T. SELL 
Each, Paper, 50 cts. - Cloth, 75 cts. 





LATEST ISSUES 
Studies of Famous Bible Women. 
Studies of Great Bible Characters. 
Bible Studies in Vital Questions. 
Studies in the Four Gospels. 


EIGHT BOOKS 


In Order of Publication 
Supplemental Bible Studies. 
Bible Studies by Books. 

Bible Studies by Periods. 
Bible Studies by Doctrines. 
Bible Studies in the Life of Christ. 
Bible Studies in the Life of Paul. 
Studies in the Life of the Christian. 
Studies in Early Church History. 


Studies of Famous 
Bible Women — 


By 
HENRY T.*’SELL, D.D. 
Author of The Sell Sertes of Bible Study Books 
for Adult and Teacher Training Bible 


Classes, Schools, Colleges 
and Private Study. 





New Yorre CHICAGO 


Fleming H. Revell Company 


LONDON AND EDINBURGH 


Copyright, MCMXXV, by 
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 


Printed in the United States of America 


New York: 158 Fifth Avenue 
Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. 
London: 21 Paternoster Square 
Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street 


FOREWORD 


6 hee is a woman’s age. She is coming into 
her rights and taking the place which belongs 
to her. 

This place has not been won, solely, by education, 
agitation, demand or entreaty but, in the main, by the 
wide dissemination of Scriptural ideals and stand- 
ards for women. 

It is a well known fact that it is only, in the lands 
where these ideals have a free circulation, that the ad- 
vanced position of woman has been accorded to her. , 

The best Bible women are well worth the most 
careful study as they are the acknowledged trail- 
blazers for the larger freedom of thought and action. 
In this book we consider certain aspects of their lives 
and careers which bring out, in a clear light, their 
important contributions to the present high status, 
destined to go higher, of womankind. 

The worst Bible women—human nature does not 
change—serve to mark the dangerous shoals, quick- 
sands and rocks of life, where their lives were 
wrecked, and which still exist as death traps. 

The purpose is to take the narratives, in their 
forms, as we find them, and to get directly at the 
truths, the meanings and the teachings which the 
authors and compilers attempted to express. Very 
definite present-day applications are made. 

These women succeeded in getting their messages 
of uplift, encouragement and warning across to their 


own generation, and to ours, in a most remarkable 
5 


6 Foreword 


way. They stand out of their race and times as no 
other women stand out. 

This book is a short course of Bible study show- 
ing the very important part women have had in its 
history. 

Twenty-one of the most typical women are se-~ 
lected for these Studies of Famous Bible Women, 
such as Eve, Rebekah, Deborah, Delilah, Jezebel, 
Queen of Sheba, Mother of Jesus, Mary and Martha, 
the wife of Peter, Lydia and others. 

For original class work it is suggested that studies 
be made of the lives of Sarah, Rachel, Rizpah, 
Naaman’s Little Captive Maid, Rhoda, Priscilla and 
others not considered in this book. 

This is the companion volume to the author’s 
Studies of Great Bible Characters (Men), and the 
twelfth in his series of Bible study books. 

It is for use in Adult Bible and Teacher Training 
Classes, Schools, Colleges, private study, etc. 

1 res Psy 

New York, N. Y. 


VIII. 


XII. 


. EvE 


Contents 


The N ew amon 


REBEKAH 


Romance and Chenin eae 


JocHEBED AND Miriam 


Resolute, Resourceful Women. 


DEBORAH 


An Able Leader of Men. 


DELILAH : 
A Temptress. 


RutTH 


A Dependable ‘Woman,’ 


HANNAH 


Mother of a Great Prophet. 


QUEEN OF SHEBA . 
The Seeker After Wisdom. 


Wipow OF ZAREPHATH . 
Faith Under Difficulties. 


JEZEBEL . 
The Ruthless One 


ESTHER 
Self-sacrifice For a ‘Cause’ 


WoMAN OF SOLOMON’S SONG . 


The Single Standard. 
7 


XXI. 


Contents 


MOTHER OF JESUS : 
Best and Best Known. 


WIFE OF PETER . 
A Hidden Woman. 


WOMAN OF SAMARIA 
A Keen Questioner. 


MartTHA AND Mary . 
A Task and a Vision. 


Mary MAGDALENE A 
A Woman of Large Service 


MoTHER OF JAMES AND JOHN . 
An Ambitious Woman. 


DORGAS) 3) 04 
A Philanthropic Woman. 


Mary, MotHer oF MArkK 


An Influential Church Worker. 


LYDIA . 
A Business Woe 


97 


«06 
Lis 
. 120 | 
Ou Ney 
. 134 
. 141 
. 148 


. 154 


I 
EVE 
THE NEW WOMAN 


The Story of Eve is the oldest one of womankind 
in the Bible. 

It fairly bristles with historical, scientific and theo- 
logical difficulties. It is embedded in the chapters 
which have been battle-grounds for centuries. Taken 
as it reads, at face value, and laying aside the contro- 
versies, we find it replete, as a story, with the most 
intense human and religious interests. 

It is strikingly dramatic in its representation of the 
perplexing crises, or stages of development, through 
which Eve is declared to have passed. 

' The Position of the New Woman is made plain. 
The same claim is made for the high origin of woman 
as that of man—Genesis 1:27. She is represented, all 
through the narrative, as thinking and acting inde- 
pendently—Chapters 2-4. 

Woman is Shown as man’s equal, companion and 
helpmeet—Genesis 2: 18, 23. 

There is not a trace, here, of the Oriental idea of 
the inferiority, the degradation and slave notion—the 
shame and disgrace of the world—which were forced 
upon her later on. 

The Sacredness of the Law of “ The Pair Mar- 
riage” is proclaimed at the outset. It is the great 
goal sought to-day. If universally adopted it would 
make over society, reform governments and do away 


with untold evils and miseries. Adam said of his 
9 


10 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


wife—“ This is now bone of my bones and flesh of 
my flesh. . . . Therefore shall a man leave his 
father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and 
they shall be one flesh ’’—Genesis 2: 23, 24. 

Jesus Christ quotes, commends and sanctions this, 
“The Law ” that works for the greatest happiness— 
Matthew 19: 4-6. 

This ideal of marriage was proclaimed long before 
Israel had a name and a place in the world. This 
people departed from it in “ Patriarchal Polygamy ” 
and suffered the consequences. 

The Most Ardent Advocate of Woman's Freedom 
and Rightful Place, in the world, can not go beyond 
what is here set forth. The trouble has been, in 
studying these early chapters of Genesis, that the at- 
tention has been focussed upon the mysteries and diffi- 
culties rather than upon the great truths which are so 
plainly taught. 

Stages of Development.—The story of Eve is 
very condensed. Every word is made to count at its 
full value and needs to be studied carefully to get its 
meaning not only in itself but also in connection with 
its fellows. The word pictures are masterpieces ; each 
one complete, yet representing but one of a series. 
We must look at them all, in turn, to get the full im- 
portance of the things they teach. They show the 
“ Stages of Development ” through which “ The New 
Woman ”’ passed. 

The Age of Innocence and spontaneity. We first 
see Eve in a beautiful garden, “ Eastward in Eden.” 
What a wonderful picture it is! Our imagination 
glorifies the few details given us. We behold smiling 
skies; we are delighted with the sight of beautiful 


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Eve 11 


flowers and we inhale their perfume. There are trees, 
good for food, and good to look at. Singing birds, 
charming us with their sweet songs, are everywhere. 
Every prospect pleases. Yet this fascinating place is 
not one of idleness for Adam and Eve are to dress it 
and to keep it—Genesis 2: 8-15. 

This period in the life of Eve, although she is repre- 
sented as a grown woman, has been compared to that 
of a young girl, who in her simplicity and innocence, 
is spontaneous and free in all her thoughts and actions. 
She has not yet awakened to what is in her and before 
her. She is, as yet untried, for her life is a securely 
sheltered one. She has no inkling of her powers and 
possibilities ; they are there but undeveloped. 

There are “ Gardens of Eden” in many modern 
households and the Eves are there. This is not an 
affair of yesterday but also of to-day. 

The Time of Testing and temptation—Genesis 
3:1-6. The picture is not a pleasant one. Dark 
clouds are gathering. There is a chillin the air. The 
birds have ceased to sing. This to us; to Eve, listen- 
ing to a persuasive voice, telling her of very much bet- 
ter things outside and beyond the confines of the 
garden, there are no dark clouds and no chill in the air. 

She is being told that this garden, which she has 
thought so much of, is a prison. To really enjoy 
things she must break out of it and realize the full pos- 
sibilities of her life. She is told that her God wants 
to keep her back from the enjoyment of her full pos- 
sibilities. Why be kept back? Why wait? Eat of 
the tree of knowledge of good and evil and be a God 
yourself. Take your life in your own hands and enjoy 


every iw to the full. 


12 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


She has been told, on the other hand, that she must 
not force matters of growth—Genesis 2: 17; 3: 1-6. 

But the persuasive voice of the serpent in this and 
every Eden, tells her that she, in substance, is old- 
fashioned, if we may so call it, and nothing whatever 
will happen if she breaks over a law of her nature and 
of her God—Genesis 3: 4, 5. 

We know what happened to Eve, when she yielded 
to the temptation to “ An upward fall.” 
Possibilities can be developed only in legitimate 
ways. Growth cannot be forced. You cannot get a 
full blown rose by picking open a bud or a great oak 
by dissecting an acorn. 

This Story Is Modern in every respect.—Eve 
Bascom of Cherry Valley grew up to womanhood be- 
fore her parents hardly realized it. They were very 
good to Eve. She was an only child. Everything was 
done for her. But she became very much dissatisfied. 
She felt that she was being held back. The serpent 
had come into her garden of Eden with the same old, 
old story. One night, after her parents had gone to 
bed, she stole out of the house, with her satchel, and 
took the train for the big city. The rest of the story? 
It is written on the police blotter of one more of “ The 
Unfortunates.”’ 

Eve Jackson Jones, wife of a prominent merchant, 
lived a sheltered life. She had everything heart could 
wish. A very slick handsome young man saw her. 
He desired her. He played the part that was played 
in the old garden long ago. It worked not for a larger 
life but for a broken-up home and the wreck of the 
young wife. It all came out in the divorce court. 

The Threefold Trial of a Soul.—This story of 


{on ¥ 
“ee 


Eve 13 


Eve’s temptation has been compared to that of Christ 
—Matthew 4:1-11. Both have the same Tempter, 
while not in the same order. 

First—Addressed to The Bodily Appetites—Eve 
saw that “ The tree was good for food ”-——Genesis 3: 6. 
Compare, Matthew 4: 3, “ And when the tempter came 
to him (Jesus Christ) he said, If thou be the Son of 
God, command that these stones be made bread.” 
That was when Christ was an hungered. Here is the 
cry of “The evil-minded man” to-day. He says, 
“ Gratify every bodily appetite.’’ He means it. He 
advocates this doctrine. He practises it. It is of no 
consequence to him how many wrecks he makes of 
other people. He only thinks of himself. He is a 
hostile submarine on the high seas of life, seeking only 
to destroy. Science to-day has united with the Bible 
in teaching the importance of keeping under the bodily 
appetites ; for, given unrestrained rein, they cause un- 
told damage. 

Second—Addressed to The Sense of Beauty—Eve 
saw that “The tree . . . was pleasant to the 
eyes ’’—Genesis 3:6 Compare, Matthew 4: 8-10. 
“ Again the devil taketh him (Jesus Christ) up into 
an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the 
kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And 
said unto him, All these things will I give thee if thou 
wilt fall down and worship me.” See Christ’s answer 
—Matthew 4: 10. 

Often the worst evils seek to lure by sheer beauty. 
No one, even the most depraved, is attracted by bare 
and ugly sins, seen in all their hideousness. Every! 
swindler plies his trade under the guise of being a 
beautiful and bountiful benefactor. 


14 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


It is the delight of the eyes, beyond what, one can 
afford in extravagance of living, seeing and going, 
that leads to destruction. This is a present-day temp- 
tation. Better clothes than one can afford, pearls, 
diamonds, entertainments; all have a drawing power 
which is like a powerful magnet to the iron in every 
one of us, 

We are taken up on a mountain and shown the 
glory, not the poverty, not the sin, not the misery of 
the world, but its glittering beauty. No man can say 
but what he is attracted away from his humdrum tasks 
by this glory. This is not the beauty of service or 
sacrifice which Christ taught and that which can alone 
benefit and lift up our fellow-men, with ourselves, to 
a higher level. 

Third—Addressed to The Desire for Wisdom— 
Eve saw “ A tree to be desired to make one wise ”— 
Genesis 3:6. Compare, Matthew 4: 5-7, where Jesus 
is placed upon a pinnacle of the temple and bidden to 
cast Himself down in the trust that angels will bear 
Him up. 

A. spiritual and mental temptation. To be wise 
above God. To know what is best for us above the 
Divine Wisdom. It is to pray not God’s will but my 
will be done, never mind God, to say nothing of our 
fellow-men. 

To seek wisdom is a natural desire. What better 
can we do than to multiply our schools and colleges to 
this end of knowing more? 

The lure of every temptation is that it proceeds 
along a line that is legitimate and right, up to a cer- 
tain point. This is the attractive bait that conceals 
the hook which will presently be jerked and we will 


Kve 15 


be caught. The bait is, in short, that wisdom by 
which we can be placed on high and overrule and 
override others. 

Eve placed her wisdom, as to the eating of the fruit 
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, above that 
of God. 

The Crisis.—The independence of Eve, and her 
freedom of choice, is shown in that she, according to 
the narrative, did not talk over the matter with her 
husband. She knew just what she ought to do and 
repeated it to the Tempter—Genesis 3:2, 3. This is 
the pitiful part of this whole matter of going into sin. 
Eve knew what was right but made the deliberate 
choice of evil. 

Then the matter followed the same course that it 
follows to-day. 

The Aftermath.—After the yielding to tempta- 
tion, nothing seemed to happen. Eve might have said 
—‘‘ See I have crossed the line between good and evil 
and nothing has come of it.” But wait! It did not 
take long for things to begin to happen, and when 
they did—Genesis 3:8-24—Adam and Eve found 
themselves outside the gates of Paradise and hard put 
to it to make a living where the land produced thorns 
and thistles—Genesis 3: 18. 

This story repeats itself every day. It reads some- 
thing like this, in the morning’s newspaper: Mr. and 
Mrs. Adam and Eve Snedeker Jackson, through il- 
legitimate practices, described last week, have been 
compelled to give up their beautiful villa in Paradise 
Park and have gone to live on the South side of the 
city, across the street from the municipal dumping 
ground. 


16 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


The Promise and Possibility of Recuperation.— 
- Notice three actions ascribed to God. They are 1m- 
portant. 

First—He Gave Them a Full Hearing.—He let 
them tell their side of their story. They were not 
condemned unheard—Genesis 3: 7-13. 

Second—He Condemned the Tempter and Gave a 
Promise and a Possibility of Recuperation before He 
pronounced the punishment for the sin—Genesis 
3:14, 15. Here is no hard, stern God but one who 
seeks the return of wrong-doers, through repentance. 

Third—Only After a Full Hearing, Condemnation 
of the Tempter and a Promise of Recuperation, He 
Pronounces the Dooms—Genesis 3: 16-24—-which are 
by no means easy to bear. 

Did Eve Return, with Her Husband, to the Fa- 
vour of God?—A careful reading of the after narra- 
tive, as it is set down, makes us believe that she did. 


Note: In the first two chapters of his book (Bible 
Study by Periods), “Creation” and “The Garden of 
Eden,” the author has,taken up some of the more difficult 
problems of the first chapters of Genesis; the treatments 
of which are outside his purpose in this book. 


Questions.— What can be said about the story of 
Eve? What about the position of “The New 
Woman”’; her equality with man; her independence; 
the “ Pair-Marriage”? Describe the stages of de- 
velopment; the ‘“ Age of Innocence”; the “ Time of 
Testing.” Give an account of “ The Threefold Trial 
of a Soul” ; addressed to the “ Bodily Appetites ” ; the 
“Sense of Beauty”; the “Desire for Wisdom.” 
What can be said of the “‘ Crisis ” ; the “ Aftermath ” ; 
the “ Promise and Possibility of Recuperation”? Did 
Eve return to the favour of God? 


IT 
REBEKAH 
ROMANCE AND COMMON SENSE 


Romance plays a leading part in a number 
of Bible Narratives. The story of Rebekah—Genesis 
24—is one of them. It opens with an unexpected 
proposal of marriage. The desires of an old man 
for his son and of an eligible young man, for hap- 
piness, are fulfilled. The dreams of a young woman, 
“Very fair to look upon,” are realized. 

Here romance dons her most festive garments and 
assumes her most cheerful countenance. Everything 
combines to make a love story of singular power and 
sweetness. If we only half look for it we will see 
how often this sort of a thing comes to the surface. 
Our Lord made His first public appearance at a 
wedding. There is a craving, in all hearts, for this 
light of joy out of the ordinary routine of humdrum 
every-day realities. 

Common Sense.—Taken, on the other hand, 
this narrative moves along, what may be called, the 
most calculated estimates of causes and effects. 
Everything is considered before Abraham sends out 
his servant, “ That ruled over all he had” to seek a 
wife for his son, Isaac. The chances of success and 
defeat, of the project, are carefully canvassed. 
Minute instructions are given of where to go and 
what to do. Common Sense is applied to a very dif- 
ficult problem. Everything possible to foresee is fore- 


seen and provided for. 
17 


18 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Is There Any Antagonism Between Romance and 
Common Sense? There ought not to be. Each is 
necessary to the other, as it is shown in this narrative. 

Romance, without common sense, no matter how 
high and exalted it may be, soon comes crashing to 
the ground, a crushed and broken thing. 

That is an every-day modern event. 

Common sense can not rise from the earth with- 
out the wings of romance. 

The Plan.—There are things Abraham wished 
to see accomplished. There were things he wanted to 
avoid. He desired his son Isaac to be happily married: 
as he was afterwards to Rebekah. He did not want 
him to take a wife of the alien people around him. He 
had seen too much misery result from such marriages. 

It was the custom of the times, as it is now in 
Eastern countries, for parents to choose marriage 
mates for their children. It is quite evident that 
Abraham talked over the matter with Isaac for he 
knew all about the project of the camel caravan, under 
the guidance of Eliezer, to look him up a wife. 

The Problem of Suitability in Marriage, which 
Abraham and Isaac had before them, is an exceed- 
ingly modern one. 

Here is what a great authority, on marriage to-day, 
has to say in a recent magazine review of this ques- 
tion—*‘ There ought to be selection in marriage by 
equality of breeding, and of culture, in the same 
mores, so as to assure sympathy in ideas, standards, 
aims and modes of life of the spouses of those who 
have to spend their lives together. There should also 
be selection by health and character for the sake of 
the children that they may be well brought up.” 


Rebekah 19 


Abraham went farther than this authority. He 
wanted the same standard in morals and religion with- 
out which the others are apt to fail. In this he showed 
himself, in a more advanced position, than the above 
quoted magazine writer. He is a man who carefully 
considered one of the greatest problems of the ages, 
in all its bearings. 

The Executive Eliezer—He was a wise old 
man. He took the caravan which was large and im- 
posing, after getting the most careful instructions as 
to how to proceed, and headed towards the old home 
town where Abraham’s kin lived in the city of Nahor 
in Mesopotamia. Arrived; notice the fact that he did 
not go at once to a relative’s house. He prayed over 
the matter and asked that the Lord direct him. It 
would be an excellent thing if there were more of 
this. He then waited. He wanted to see the young 
marriageable women off their guard. He proposed 
to see what he had to choose from, before making 
himself known. There could not be more care taken 
in selection than this. 

Rebekah Appears, coming to draw water, at 
the common well. She was “Very fair to look 
upon.” She was the daughter of “ Bethuel, the son 
of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother.” 
Rebekah seemed to fulfill all the conditions of “ Suit- 
ability,” in what he had prayed for. 

She was a beautiful young woman. 

She had a kind disposition. She at once gave him 
to drink, as he asked her, from the water which she 
drew from the well. 

She not only did this but she offered to draw water 
from the well for ten camels. Now to do this was 
no slight task. 


20 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


She did more than was asked of her with no ul- 
terior motive, for as yet she did not know Eliezer 
or his mission. It is not often that a person is found 
who will go out of their way to do so big a favour. 

She showed that she had great physical strength 
in drawing water for so many thirsty camels to drink. 

She was hospitality itself, for on being asked to 
lodge Eliezer and his caravan, she at once responded 
with a most cordial invitation to her father’s house. 

She passed the final test when, on being questioned, 
she showed who she was and to what family she 
belonged. 

Negotiations Proceeded with Great Swiftness. 
Eliezer, the shrewd, does not hesitate a moment to 
invest Rebekah—Genesis 24: 22—with the betrothal 
earring and bracelets. He goes at once to her home 
and in the most matter of fact, common-sense way, 
tells all about his mission and his master, Abraham 
and his son, Isaac. He enlarges upon Isaac’s pros- 
pects as the sole heir of Abraham. He tells, doubtless, 
of his excellent qualities as a man and of his physical 
beauty. Trust Eliezer not to leave anything unsaid of 
the desirability of this union, and of his master’s son, 
that ought to be said. He formally asks for Re- 
bekah’s hand, in marriage, for Isaac. Then he wants 
to be off at once—the very next day. 

Rebekah’s Acceptance. The family want her to 
remain at least ten days. But Eliezer is exceedingly 
urgent for a departure the next morning. Rebekah 
consents to the early date for leaving. Here is 
“Romance” with a big “R”. Consider how Re- 
bekah’s heart must have been stirred! How all the 
dreams she had dreamed of this event of which every 


Rebekah a 


normal young woman does think more or less, had 
now come true. Going out one afternoon to draw 
water, as she had done on so many afternoons, and 
the very next day, at the same hour, on her way to 
get married to a very desirable young man. Yet, in 
it all, there had come the most common sense, most 
suitable arrangements, for present and future wel- 
fare. 

The Meeting of Rebekah and Isaac.—In due 
time the caravan reached the homeland. Isaac, as 
anxious to see his future wife, as she is to see him, 
is on the lookout. No details are given of that meet- 
ing but it must have seemed to them almost as if they 
had known each other a long, long time. 

A Happy Home.—It must have been a happy 
home for Rebekah perfectly satisfied Isaac. He is 
the only one of the patriarchs, who according to the 
degenerate custom of the times and country, did not 
take another wife. A home is not in the largeness of 
the house, the decorations, the number of servants 
but in the love which husband and wife bear for each 
other. 

A Cloud Arises on the Horizon of this happy 
home with the coming of “The World Famous 
Twins,” Esau and Jacob. If a man had been writ- 
ing a novel he would have closed this charming love 
story with the meeting of Isaac and Rebekah and 
their marriage. But this is a Bible writer and he is 
writing of life which sometimes has its bitter trials 
beyond the young and middle aged periods. The 
story is told in Genesis 25:20; 33:20, etc. Read the 
first few chapters and the cloud seems to grow bigger 
and bigger, yet if you read on far enough you see 


22 + Studies of Famous Bible Women 


how the cloud clears away in the blessings that come 
to Jacob and to his sons and the further history of 
Israel. 

Why Did This Cloud Arise? Esau and Jacob 
were much thought of when they were little. As they 
grew up to manhood they developed entirely different 
dispositions. “ Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of 
the field: Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents.” 

Esau was the favourite of Isaac. Jacob was the 
one beloved by his mother. Each parent tried to ad- 
vance the child beloved. Rebekah, having the quick- 
est brain, so managed affairs that Jacob got the 
parental blessing which would have naturally gone 
to Esau. 

Rebekah clouded the happiness of the home because 
out of the very intenseness of her love for Jacob she 
tried to play Providence for him. She put herself 
in the place of God. She tried to bend things that 
did not naturally bend the way she wanted them to. 
She deceived Isaac into thinking that he was blessing 
Esau when he was blessing Jacob. To be sure Jacob 
was much better fitted to carry out the conditions of 
the birthright but that did not excuse Rebekah. 

But it is here that many another mother has erred. 
She has tried, as Rebekah did, to play God for one 
child above another and to show partiality where no 
partiality should exist. It may be that this is the 
reason why this cloud on the home of Isaac and Re- 
bekah is shown to exist. 

Rebekah’s Punishment. When Esau found that 
he had lost the blessing of the first born, he was very 
angry. Isaac was not at all pleased to find that he 
had been duped. Things were not very pleasant in 


Rebekah 23 


that formerly happy home. Rebekah, with her sen- 
sitive, strong disposition, could find little to comfort 
her. Finally things became so unpleasant that Jacob 
was compelled to leave his father’s house and he did 
not return for fourteen years. Without the comfort 
of Jacob’s presence, of whom she thought so much, 
there was not very much to cheer the heart of his 
mother. She erred through the very intensity of her 
love to have things come out the way she thought 
they ought to come out. Without her playing Provi- 
dence, Jacob might still have come to the larger 
things. 

The Character of Rebekah.—Here is no veiled 
shrinking Oriental woman, but one in whom the 
strong, rugged traits predominate. She is a vigorous 
personality. She is clever, active and energetic. She 
is quick to make decisions and she does not hesitate 
in carrying them out. She seeks to dominate events 
rather than have them dominate her. She is strong 
and masterful from the time she appears in the Scrip- 
tural narrative until she goes out. 

Questions.—What can be said about romance 
playing a leading part in the Bible? What can be said 
about common sense? Are they antagonistic? What 
can be said about the plan of Abraham? What about 
suitability in marriage? Who was Eliezer, and what 
did he do? Describe Rebekah’s appearance, and her 
excellencies. What can be said about the swiftness 
of the negotiations for her marriage and Rebekah’s 
acceptance. Describe the meeting of Isaac and Re- 
bekah ; the happy home; the cloud on the horizon and 
how it came. What of Rebekah’s punishment? 
Describe Rebekah’s character. 


TIT 
JOCHEBED AND MIRIAM 


RESOLUTE, RESOURCEFUL WOMEN 


The Mother and Sister of Moses, Jochebed 
and Miriam, were resolute and resourceful. 

These two qualities are necessary to the successful 
carrying out of any plan that may be conceived. 

A woman may be resolute but utterly lacking in 
resources, of heart and mind, to bring to a right con- 
clusion that which may seem to her the needed thing 
to be done. 

Again there may be abundant resources but no 
resolution to marshal them into action which compels 
attention and breaks down opposition. 

The Life of a Nation is at Stake. (Exodus 
Ist ch.).—The Israelitish nation, since the death of 
Joseph, who ruled over Egypt, has been degraded to 
slavery. The people have been compelled to do the 
hard and menial work for a mighty empire. 

In spite of the oppressive tasks forced upon them, 
their numbers are multiplying so rapidly as to cause 
serious alarm lest they rise in rebellion, and ally them- 
selves with the enemies of their taskmasters. This 
alarm causes the Egyptians to devise new methods to 
make their “lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter 
and in brick and in all manner of service in the field: 
all their service, wherein they made them serve, was 


with rigour.” 
24 


Jochebed and Miriam 25 


Unable to check the increase of the Israelites, by 
hard bondage, the king of Egypt determines on the 
most drastic measures. He sends out a decree that 
all the new born male babies ghall be destroyed. This 
is striking at the life of the nation. It is quite evident 
from the narrative, that ‘ Searchers” are appointed 
to go through every home and see that the decree is 
enforced. 

A Woman and a Girl, to the Rescue!—What 
can they do? Blot out now the intervening story be- 
tween the rescue of the infant Moses, from death, 
and his leading of the Israelites out of bondage and 
the whole matter savours of a mighty miracle. 

What can a woman and a girl do in such a crisis? 
We know what they actually did. They saved the 
infant Moses, by their resoluteness and resourceful- 
ness, from being killed, according to the decree of the 
Egyptian king, and put him under the care of his 
daughter. Here is no miracle, or thought of a miracle, 
but the acme of resourcefulness in a difficult situa- 
tion. Thus early do we see the important part given 
to and carried out by women of the Bible. The 
record of this great transaction is not yet written out 
in full. 

The Special Part of Jochebed and her eight- 
year-old daughter, Miriam, is told in the second 
chapter of Exodus. The narrative is very brief. 
Yet by it, the mother of Moses, in the ability to plan 
and carry out her plan, stands out as one of the great 
women, not only of the Bible, but of the world. She 
stamped her ability upon her three remarkable chil- 
dren—Moses, the foremost figure of “ The Law”; 
Aaron, the leading light in “ Religion”; Miriam, a 


26 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


great poetess, prophetess and welfare worker. Am- 
ram was the father—Numbers 26: 59. 

When Moses Was Born, Jochebed managed to hide 
him from “The Egyptian Searchers” for three 
months. When she found she could hide him no 
longer, she set her wits to work. There could have 
been no better plan than that which she finally worked 
out. She must have smiled at the thought of getting 
the king of Egypt’s daughter to rescue her little son 
and have him brought up in Pharaoh’s court. 

Note the careful detail with which the plan is 
worked out and the shrewdness of the observations 
beforehand. She must observe the Egyptian princess, 
that she liked children and the time when she came 
to bathe. Some one must be on hand when Moses is 
found to suggest the mother as a nurse for the child. 
Meantime an ark of bulrushes must be made and the 
infant placed in it at just the right point in the river 
where the princess would be sure to see it. Miriam 
is set to watch to see that no harm comes to the babe 
and things go as planned. 

What could be more natural than that a little girl, 
eight years old, should come near when the princess 
finds the child? Again, what could be more natural, 
doubtless prompted by her mother, than that Miriam 
should suggest a nurse for the child and that nurse, 
without mentioning the fact, should be her mother. 

Note that Jochebed was not content to have the life 
of her child saved, she wanted him saved to his nation- 
ality, as an Israelite, and to his religion. Wauthout she 
had become his nurse, Moses would have been brought 
up, from infancy, as an Egyptian and been lost to his 


Jochebed and Miriam PAT 


people. If this is not foreseeing things and forelook- 
ing after things, we do not know what is. 

What need we say-more of Jochebed? Her prom- 
inent place in the Bible gallery is secure. 

The After Career of Miriam.—This part is 
recorded many years later, when the Children of 
Israel, following the “ Plagues” and the demands of 
Moses, have been rescued from bondage and passing 
through “ The Red Sea,” have reached the other side. 

She Had a Very Prominent Part in the Leadership 
of the Nation. This is quite evident from the scat- 
tered notices in the accounts. 

She Remained Unmarried. This is quite remark- 
able when so much attention is given, in these early 
narratives to marrying and the ill and the good that 
comes from it. When we look back to the lives of 
the Patriarchs’ wives, we see much space in the 
records given to them. In Sarah, Abraham’s wife, 
emphasis is laid on this question; in Rebekah, Isaac’s 
wife, there is a long account of the proposal of mar- 
riage ; in Rachel the keynote is struck in the fourteen 
years’ courtship that preceded her alliance with Jacob. 

In the account of Miriam’s life, the subject of 
marriage is so far in the background that it is not 
even mentioned. 

She is a Prophetess—Exodus 15:20. ‘‘ One who 
delivers the Divine message and interprets the Divine 
will.” 

She is a Poetess. Poetry is an art with her not for 
art’s sake, but for the sake of God and humanity. 
“ She is the first of the sweet singers of Israel. She 
sings for God. She uses her gift for the elevation 


28 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


of human souls into the heavenly life. She becomes 
in this, the forerunner of all the Hebrew poets.” 

It has been said that the “ Difference between the. 
Jew and the Greek is not in their estimate of artistic 
beauty, but in the field where they plant that beauty. 
To the Greek it is an end in itself; to the Jew it is 
a minister to God. . . . Nothing is painted to show 
its colour, nothing is sung to reveal its harmony, 
nothing is written to aivee its genius; all is for the 
glory of God.” 

The great song, found in Exodus 15th ch., is 
ascribed to Miriam. “It is divided into two parts. 
Up to the end of the twelfth verse it is historical. 
The remainder expresses the high hopes inspired by 
the recent great experiences, in the deliverance. from 
Egypt. Nothing now seems impossible; the fiercest 
tribes of the desert and of Palestine may be despised. 

. The poem is steeped in gratitude. In the great 
deliverance, man has borne no part. It is Jehovah 
who has triumphed gloriously.” 

She is a Welfare Worker. She is devoted, all the 
time and always, to what will be for the best interests 
of her people. 

She is an Ardent Patriot—Numbers 12:1-16. Her 
sin and rebellion against her brother, Moses, is caused 
by an excess of zeal for what she considers the wel- 
fare of her people. Moses has married an Ethiopian 
woman and Miriam fears what has come to pass, in 
many cases, that this woman of an alien nation and 
different religion, will win her brother away from his 
religion and his God. Then, too, in the case of her 
own brother, she may not have had as high an opinion 
of him as others had. Relatives, especially close 


J ochebed and Miriam 29 


relatives, are not apt to esteem too highly the exalted 
positions of their kin. Miriam was mistaken in the 
estimate of her brother’s loyalty to his country and 
his God. For that sin she suffered and was punished. 

Miriam is the Forerunner of the modern 
women, who remaining unmarried, devote their time, 
attention, talents and energies to some profession or 
pursuit for the general welfare. The more carefully 
we look over her career, the more clearly it is seen 
how all her thoughts are given to the uplift of her 
people. 

An Advocate of Woman’s Rights.—This has 
been charged in her favour and against it. Anyway, 
as the record stands, in the twelfth chapter of Num- 
bers, when she thought that Moses was going to fail, 
on account of his Ethiopian wife, she felt herself 
perfectly competent to take his place and boldly told 
him so. She was deeply concerned, for the national 
welfare. 

Women in offering themselves for elective posi- 
tions in our country to-day, say that they feel them- 
selves able to take on and perform the duties that will 
devolve upon them, and prove it by their election to 
the offices they seek. But, in the case of Miriam, 
she erred in her estimate of her brother. In our next 
study, of Deborah, this matter is again to the front. 
Miriam was certainly in the advance guard of modern 
women. 

Character—We have in Miriam, a_ clever 
woman, with a brilliant mind. She is energetic, reso- 
lute, and resourceful. In many respects she was in 
advance of her times. She is devoted, whole-heartedly 
to her God and her people. 


30 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Questions.—What can be said about the 
mother and sister of Moses? How was the life of the 
nation at stake? How did a woman and a girl come 
to the rescue? What was the special part of Joche- 
bed? What can be said of the after career of 
Miriam? What about her prominent place; her un- 
married state? What can be said about her, as a 
prophetess, as a poetess, as a welfare worker, an 
ardent patriot? Of what is Miriam the forerunner? 
Was she an advocate of woman’s rights? What can 
be said of her character? 


IV 
DEBORAH 


AN ABLE LEADER OF MEN 


The First Woman Leader of Men, in the Bible, 
is Deborah—Judges 4th-5th chs. She became the de- 
liverer of her nation after it had been oppressed and 
overrun by its enemies for twenty years. She felt 
the Divine call to action when no man would stand 
up to the task. Men were afraid to lift their hands 
or even make a protest against the iniquities of those 
who lorded it over them. 

She was a woman with all the characteristics of a 
strong man. She called herself “ A Mother in Is- 
rael ’—Judges 5:7. She has been called “ A Woman 
with Public Spirit.” After she had stirred her people 
to a realization of their evil condition, she endeav- 
oured to get Barak, a trained man of war, to lead an 
army against the enemy, but he felt the task so hope- 
less that he declared he would not do it, unless De- 
borah went with him. There was nothing for 
Deborah to do except to take command of the situ- 
ation. She did this with such effectiveness that the 
land had rest for “ Forty Years.” 

That Deborah took and occupied the position she 
did is all the more remarkable from the fact that her 
age was one in which men, and men alone, were con- 
sidered competent to head large enterprises. 

The Deeds of Deborah are written in two of 
the twenty-one chapters of the Book of Judges. Of 


the fifteen leaders, whose exploits are set down, she 
31 


32 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


is the only woman. She is the third in order. This 
Book of Judges is the history of the transition time, 
of several hundreds of years, from the death of 
Joshua—Judges 2: 8—to the rise of the great prophet 
Samuel. The key-note of the “ Book” is found in 
2: 16-19. 

The problems to be met were principally three. 
The way Deborah met them brings out, into a strong 
light, her great personality, ability and faith. 

Problem One—Political. In the desert wandering 
there had been a strong central authority under Moses. 
In conquering the Promised Land, Joshua had main- 
tained strict military discipline. With these mighty 
men dead, the tribes seem to have fallen apart. There 
was no central government, no king and no fixed 
capitol. The supremacy passed from one tribe to 
another as occasion or necessity arose. Again the 
change in the life of the people from “ The Nomadic ’”’ 
in the desert to “ The Agricultural and Town Life” 
was no easy one. The former inhabitants of the land, 
who had been conquered and thrust aside, were ready 
to take every advantage to harass and get the Israelites 
out. There was extreme bitterness of feeling. It is 
a marvel that they were able to maintain themselves. 

Problem Two—Social. The Canaanites remaining, 
naturally became the teachers in the management of 
the land and the manner of living. The Israelites 
adopted many of their evil customs. There were in- 
termarriages. All sorts of trouble arose. 

Problem Three—Religious. ‘The Canaanitish re- 
ligion, easy and seductive, ministered to the evil pro- 
pensities in man. It was a constant stumbling-block 
as the religion of Jehovah required purity in life and 


Deborah 83 


character. Consider these problems and note how 
great the task was of this “ Leader of Men.” 

The Fear of the Enemy was over all. The Is- 
raelites did not dare to even walk along the highways 
lest they be robbed and maltreated—Judges 5:6. 
‘They sought the by-ways in order that they might go 
in comparative safety. The enemy was malignant in 
his persecutions. He placed archers not far from the 
wells and commanded them to shoot at those who 
came to draw water—Judges 5:11. He took away 
the shields and the spears of the Israelites that they 
might not be able to defend themselves—Judges 5:8. 
In order that any rebellion on the part of the Is- 
raelites could be put down quickly, the captain of the 
enemy host was provided with nine hundred chariots 
of iron—Judges 4:3. Sisera, the name of the cap- 
tain, caused men’s faces to blanch with fear. He was 
ruthless and cruel to the last degree. No wonder that 
the men who knew Sisera dreaded him and refused to 
go against him. 

Deborah, Under the Palm Tree, Tries to 
Hearten the People—Her supremacy seems to 
have arisen in the most natural way, outside her call 
to leadership by her God. “ And Deborah, a proph- 
etess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that 
time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah 
between Ramah and Beth-el in Mount Ephraim: and 
the children of Israel came up to her for judgment”— 
Judges 4:4, 5. 

She was a woman of strong human sympathies. 
She was greatly stirred by what she heard and saw 
of the oppressive measures of the enemy of her 
people. Her career, doubtless, began in her ability 


34 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


to give good, practical advice to those who came to 
her under her palm tree, at the close of her day’s 
work. 

Her heart was stirred by the indignities of the 
enemy which were told to her. 

There were probably three stages through which 
she passed— 

“The Sympathetic.” She called herself “ A Mother 
in Israel” —Judges 5:7. She took other peoples’ 
troubles on herself and tried to find a way out for 
them. She comforted and heartened them. She sent 
them back home with new courage. There are such 
women in every community. They are great 
blessings. 

“The Solemn.’ She warned those who came to be 
careful not to give occasion to the oppressors so that 
they might afflict them. 

“ The Drastic.’ There came a time when Deborah 
saw that the enemies of her people were bent on 
nothing less than extermination. Her heart was hot 
with indignation. The people of Israel were crying 
unto God for deliverance—Judges 4:3. Just then 
her Divine call came which she has described in her 
song—Judges 5:12. God is moving her to action. 
There is no doubt that something must be done, and 
she decides on strong measures. 

Strong Arm Methods are Decided Upon by De- 
borah. The time for compromise has passed. How 
can there be any compromise when one people de- 
liberately sets out to destroy another ? 

“This Leader of Men” is not at all anxious to 
put herself where men have always had the place. 
She will not now if she can avoid it. She has had no 


Deborah 35 


experience in commanding an army. Note her good 
sense! She sends for Barak, a man skilled in the 
practice of arms, and one who knows how to put 
soldiers in battle array—Judges 4: 6. 

Just here an unexpected difficulty arises. Barak 
has all the military skill, all the experience, and all the 
knowledge, but he is lacking in courage. He refuses 
to go unless Deborah goes with him. Deborah must 
have smiled, even in the midst of her perplexities, at 
this man, skilled in the game of warfare, refusing to 
go unless she went with him. 

Deborah does not hesitate one moment in saying 
she will go with him. But she grimly says that there 
shall come no honour to him out of the victory that 
will surely be his. A woman shall have the honour. ~ 

The Joining of the Battle-——Read over what has 
gone before, of the sad plight of the Israelites, kept 
under the heel of their oppressors for twenty years, 
compelled to go in the by-ways, disarmed, scorned and 
maltreated and then ask—“ How will the battle 
turn?”’ There seems to be, humanly speaking, but 
one answer and that is—“ A Crushing Defeat.” 

The narrative seems to imply in the fourth chapter 
-—4:14—that Barak faltered in the presence of the 
foe and that Deborah went to the rescue. Certainly 
there is no shadow of doubt cast on Deborah as a 
“Leader of Men” under the most difficult conditions. 

The Victory (Judges 4:15-24)—What a tri- 
umph it was! “ And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and 
all his chariots and all his host.”’ What rejoicing there 
must have been! Now people could go along the high- 
ways without danger. The young women could draw 
water at the wells without being shot at. A peace of - 


36 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


forty years follows, so sweeping was the victory. In 
reading the Book of Judges, we sometimes forget 
how condensed the narrative is. Here are only twe 
short chapters to tell this wonderful story of forti- 
tude and faith and of what a woman did when men 
lost courage and hope. 

The Song of Triumph (Judges, 5th ch.).—Here 
Deborah shows us another side and that of a poetess 
of the highest order. She is carried away, and we 
are with her, to the heights of patriotic fervour which 
are remarkable. And yet this song is so written that 
we see in it a picturesque and accurate description of 
what took place before and after the victory over her 
people’s foes. 

The incident of the killing of Sisera, the scourge 
of Israel, related at the close of the fourth and fifth 
_ chapters, seems to be a blot on the narrative. If this 
account had been dressed up, it would not have had 
a place in it. The Bible writers, however, go on and 
tell things as they are. It may be said of this matter 
that there is no regret for the death of so cruel a man 
as Sisera with his long list of atrocities. It is the 
manner of his taking off by Jael. There can be no 
excuse offered for it. Only it may be said that in 
every war people seem to be beside themselves and do 
things that at other times they shrink in horror from. 
In the song of Deborah there is another version of 
the taking off of Sisera, in that Jael did what she did 
in front of him and not while he was asleep. But in 
those times, as in every war, the savage in man comes 
to the surface. We have to remember how long and 
how cruelly this people had suffered. 


Deborah 37 


The Character of Deborah is marvelous in its 
eoembination of purely womanly qualities with the 
highest poetic art, faith ia God and great executive 
ability. 
~ Questions—What can be said of the first 
woman leader of men in the Bible? Where are the 
deeds of Deborah recorded; what were her three 
problems? What can be said of the fear of the 
enemy? Describe Deborah and the three stages 
through which she probably passed. Give account of 
the strong arm methods decided upon; the joining of 
battle; the victory and the song of triumph. What 
can be said of the character of Deborah? 


V 
DELILAH 
A TEMPTRESS 


Delilah is a Type of “The Undesirable 
Woman.” She is a wrecker wherever she is and she 
is in every community. In her we search in vain for 
any conscience in regard to what she does or any pity 
for her victims. Sometimes of great beauty and per- 
sonal charm, she uses both for lures to do harm. 

All her fascinations, and she has many, are exerted 
for the purpose of mutilating and destroying every- 
thing that is worth while in those upon whom she 
fixes her regard. These favoured and deluded ones 
are then cast out, with mocking laughter, to be scorned 
by all who pass by. The classic examples are Circe 
and The Sirens. 

The Words and Deeds of this Woman are writ- 
ten in the Book of Judges. The account is short and 
to the point. It is completely set forth in eighteen 
verses—16:4-21. She lives in “ The Valley of So- 
rek,’ the entrance to which is made very beautiful 
with rare flowers which perfume the air with sweet 
odours. The exit, then as now, is on “ The Dread 
Desert of Dead Men’s Bones.” It goes by another 
name in our time, but the thing is the same. 

Big Interests were Behind Delilah in getting Sam- 
son into “ The Valley of Sorek.” The Philistines did 
not want Samson around. He interfered with their evil 


practices. He was a champion of Israel. If this 
38 


Delilah 39 


nation should come to the front then the Philistines who 
stood for all that was bad in government and morals 
must cease to be. ‘Here was a reformer that must be 
got out of the way by any means that could be used. 

Delilah Was Bribed. She was very willing to be 
bribed. Read the text—*“ And the lords af the Philis- 
tines came up unto her and said unto her, Entice him 
and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what 
means we may prevail against him, that we may bind 
to afflict him: and we will give thee, every one of us 
eleven hundred pieces of silver ”—Judges 16: 5. 

The Four Trials of the Wiles of Delilah. Note the 
systematic way in which this woman goes to work to 
wreck this strong man. She only makes four trials 
before she has him completely in her power. What 
a fool he is in the face of her power of cunning evil. 
She has no affection or passion for him while he is 
self-deluded into thinking she has. 

It is the same old story through the ages. The 
methods of this woman, of this evil sort, remain un- 
changed. Samson thinks to make a fool of Delilah 
and he is the fool. 

First—He declares, in answer to her entreaty to 
tell him the source of his strength, that if he is bound 
with seven green withes—16:7—his strength will go 
from him. (For withes read sinews, such as are used 
for bow strings.) Samson probably laughed, as he 
said this, but it is the woman who had the laugh on 
him. The sinews are easily torn apart. 

Second—A. test is made of new ropes. This 
fails—16: 11. 

Third—A test is made of weaving his hair in a 
web, This fails—16: 13, 


40 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Fourth—A test is made of his ‘“‘ Nazarite Vow.”’— 
16:17. The end of poor Samson. He has come to 
the point where he parts with his morality and spirit- 
uality and he is cast aside as a useless hulk. When 
Delilah sees that he has told her the secret of his 
power, she calls for the Philistines, who put out his 
eyes, bind him with fetters of brass, and make him 
to grind in their prison house. She goes seeking new 
victims. ) 

Every once in a while a big business man, a great 
statesman or a learned professional man is lured 
away into “The Valley of Sorek” and_ stripped 
of his most precious possessions. The Philistines 
and Delilah are still at work even in our times. 

Why is this Story in the Bible?—It is not a 
pleasant one. It is sordid to the last degree. A man 
of great physical strength and with a keen mind is 
beset, because he chooses to have it so, by a woman 
of no morals. The reading of the result leaves a bad 
taste in the mouth. 

But the Bible would not be true to life and to its 
mission if it did not hold up this mirror and let us 
see the working out of this matter, told in restrained 
language. 

A Warning.—Here is a red flag that indicates 
danger. It is bright coloured so that we may see it 
and take care. No neutral color would do. 

In New York harbour, where the ships of the 
nations go in and out, there are bell buoys anchored 
over rocks which approach the surface of the water. 
The bells ring with every motion of the waves. They 
speak no uncertain language. They cry continually 
“Take care.” ‘“ Keep away.” “Come not here.” 


Delilah Al 


There are lighthouses all up and down the seacoast 
which send out great flashes of light to warn ships 
away. There are fog horns which, in foggy weather, 
bellow out hoarse shouts of caution. 

A wise government sees that all possible means are 
used to keep ships and sailors in safety. 

But after all precautions have been taken, no 
government can prevent ships or sailors from de- 
liberately ignoring all the danger signals and going 
to destruction. 

The dangers of life, as of the sea and seacoast, are 
real. Ignore them! Yes, if we care to, as Samson 
did. The result is the same. 

A Temptress—Delilah.—‘ A” is used instead 
of “ The” because she does not stand apart. She 
is one of a numerous class. To have her pointed out 
and described, as she is, is to indicate where the bed 
of quicksands is. Once step in and the quicksand 
does the rest. 

Her Art is to Attract. No pains are spared. No 
trouble is too great. The Egyptian Potipher’s wife 
stands beside her in her attempt upon Joseph. 
Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, who tried to wreck 
Israel, is in the same class. The daughter of Hero- 
dias is not far away. The list is not a short one. 

She Seeks to Find the Strength of her victims. She 
knows the weakness; this is as an open book; she 
does not bother here. “ What is thy strength?” is her 
great question. A man may rise and conquer his weak- 
ness even at the moment of yielding or seeming to 
yield. His strength is always in reserve. It is a mas- 
sive tower into which he may flee and be safe. But let 
a man once betray his strength and he has no reserve, 


42 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Her Purpose, Never Deviated From, is to wreck 
and destroy. All her brightness and glorious colour- 
ing are like those of the poison flowers. 

Her Picture is in “ The Gallery of The Proverbs.” 
Look it up— 

The Frame—“ My son attend unto my wisdom and 
bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest 
regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowl- 
edge ”’—Proverbs 5: 1-2. 

The Picture—*“ For the lips of a strange woman 
drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than 
oil. But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a 
two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her 
steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder 
the path of her life, her ways are movable that thou 
canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye 
children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 
Remove thy way far from her and come not nigh the 
door of her house: lest thou give thine honour unto 
others and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers 
be filled with thy wealth and thy labours be in the 
house of a stranger ; And thou mourn at the last, when 
thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How 
have I hated instruction and my heart despised re- 
proof ; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, 
nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! ”— 
Proverbs 5: 3-13. 

A Victim—Samson.—Again it is “A” instead 
of “ The” because he does not stand apart but is one 
of a numerous class. 

He Had a Good Start in Life. Read Judges, 
chapter 13. His parents were fine people. He was a 
“Promised” child to do a large and important work 


Delilah 43 


in delivering Israel from her oppressors. Nothing 
could have been fairer than this splendid beginning 
of the life of Samson. The vow of “ The Nazarite ” 
was to be his. His father and mother gave him every 
possible advantage. He had a splendid body and a 
keen, quick mind. ; 

He Was Called to a Great and Honourable O ffice— 
to be a judge, ruler and deliverer of his people 
Israel. 

His Choice Was to Set Aside the Advantages that 
came to him through his birth and calling. He seemed 
to do this deliberately. We have to conclude from 
such lives as that of this man, that everything does 
not hinge on birth, education and calling to a high 
position. It is a man’s deliberate choice that counts 
largely in what he actually becomes. 

He Was Willing to be Tempted. He put himself in 
the way of “A Temptress.” Not once, but again 
and again. He went down to “ The Valley of Sorek”’ 
to see Delilah. She did not seek him out. She some- 
times does this. 

He Crossed the Line Between Good and Evil 
several times and seemingly got back unharmed. He 
might have said to himself—‘ See how easy it is to 
cross this line and get back again. It is all nonsense 
about there being danger of being caught on the 
other side. With a man who has the great physical 
strength and keen mind I have, there is no bad sit- 
uation from which I cannot escape. All this talk 
about evil harming anyone is old-fashioned.” 

He Was Caught on the Other Side of the Line by 
Delilah, just as she planned to catch him. She had 
her steel trap baited for him. He responded to the 


44 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


lure, just as many strong men, before and since him, 
have done. The jaws of the steel trap snapped shut 
and the victim could not get away., The cruel, big 
game huntress added one more scalp to her belt. 

The End of a Victim. His eyes were put out. He 
was disgraced with fetters. He was made to grind 
in the prison house of his despised enemies. He was 
called for to make sport and be an object of derision. 
It is the same story to-day of men falling from high 
positions to be objects of sport. 

We are told that Samson recovered his strength— 
Judges 16:22-31. But in his last feat of great 
strength, in the pulling down of the temple, we are 
told that he requested that he might die in order to 
be avenged for his two eyes that had been put out. 
Here was no moral purpose—Delilah seems to have 
killed that. 

This story is left to make its own impression. There 
is no summing up. There is no moralizing. There 
is no preaching a sermon. The tale is sufficient in 
itself. 

Questions.— What can be said of Delilah as a 
type? Where do we find the words and deeds of 
this woman? What big interests were behind Delilah; 
how was she bribed? What were the four trials of 
her wiles? Why is this story in the Bible; how is it 
a warning? What can be said of Delilah as a temp- 
tress? her art; what she sought; her purpose; her 
picture? What can be said of Samson, as a victim? 
his start in life; his call; his choice; his willingness to 
be tempted; his crossing the line between good and 
evil; how he was caught; his end? 


VI 
RUTH 
A DEPENDABLE WOMAN 


The Three Women, Ruth, Naomi and Orpah, 
whose lives are set forth in the Book of Ruth, are 
striking examples of what women did, in an age long 
passed away, under very distressful circumstances. 

In our day women frequently have forced upon 
them similar conditions of life, hard to endure. The 
problems are old but presented under new and per- 
plexing forms. | 

The question of “ The Why of Difficulties? ”’ is not 
easy to answer. The question of “How to Meet 
Difficulties?’ has many solutions. 

Each of the “ Three Bible Women” took up her 
problem and attempted to solve it in a different way. 
How this was done, and why Ruth was accorded first 
place, is shown in what follows. 

Ruth, a Dependable Woman.—Bereit of her 
husband, and without material resources of any kind, 
she faced the hard and bitter lot of a biting poverty. 
She felt it to be her duty to follow her mother-in-law, 
in a like sorry plight, into a new land and amongst 
an alien people. 

The narrative is quite plain. Little is left to the 
imagination. The situation is gloomy. There is no 
hint of anything better in the future. 


If Ruth shed any tears there is no record made of 
45 


46 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


the fact. She seems to have had no self-pity. She 
had no scorching words of blame for other people as 
some have, on account of her sad lot in life. 

On the other hand there is a poise, a serenity and 
cheerfulness, about this woman which are remark- 
able. She does not pose as one who is doing any- 
thing remarkable. She just does the right thing in the 
most natural way. 

When Naomi, her mother-in-law, seeks to dissuade 
her from going with her into new hardships, Ruth 
(read the first chapter of the book) declares—“* In- 
treat me not to leave thee, or to return from follow- 
ing after thee: for whither thou goest I will go; and 
where thou lodgest I will lodge: thy people shall be 
my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest I 
will die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so 
to me and more also, if ought but death part thee 
and me ”—Ch. 1: 16, 17. 

She did a great favour to Naomi and she made it 
appear that it was Naomi that did her the favour. 
- Ruth not only was able to carry her own heavy burden 
but assumed the burden of an older and weaker 
woman. She dealt not in words only, but deeds. 
In reading the narrative one is made to feel that here 
is a woman who is absolutely dependable when things 
are at the worst possible place. Here is a dependable 

independence of the right sort. 
~ There is an “Independent Spirit” of the wrong 
sort abroad to-day, whereby some young women seek 
to repudiate all burdens which irk them in any way, 
and throw to the winds all obligations which seem to 
fetter them; they declare they will live their own lives 
in their own way. This “Independent Spirit” once 


Ruth 47 


in, does what it pleases and it pleases not to do any- 
thing that would help any one else. It is absolutely 
indifferent to any misery it may cause. It seeks only 
its own pleasure. 

It is refreshing to read the story of Ruth as one 
who cheerfully accepted responsibility, for those less 
able than herself. She gained her large place because 
of this. 

Naomi, a Sensible Woman.—She lost her hus- 
band and two sons in a land foreign to her, and to 
which she had emigrated, when they were alive. 
She is without financial means. 

Reading her story we are at once impressed with 
her common-sense way of sizing up the situation. 
There is no use to remain any longer in a place where 
there is little or nothing to be hoped for. Better get 
back to the place where she came from and where 
she is well known. She calls in her two daughters- 
in-law and explains the matter to them. She tells 
them how things stand and advises them to remain 
where they are and where they are well known. Here 
are no lamentations over what cannot be helped. All 
honour to Naomi, a sensible woman. 

Orpah, an Emotional Woman.—She is in like 
condition with Ruth. She, however, looks at and 
takes matters very differently. She is very free with 
her demonstration of affection. She kisses her 
mother-in-law, doubtlessly, passionately. She is very 
fond of her, in her own way. She is greatly moved 
by the prospect of the parting of the ways. But that 
is all. She may go sobbing on her way back, but she 
goes. 

She is of the ‘“‘ Emotional Type,” very strong in ex- 


48 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


pressions of affection and that is all. This type is 
found in many crises of family and church life. It 
expresses itself in good will and words, but for the 
lifting of any burden, or really helping to get things 
out of hard places, it is utterly useless. 

Women of this sort may go a step further, and 
under pressure and stress of good feeling, promise 
any and all kinds of service, but when it comes to per- 
formance they turn back with Orpah. 

The Book of Ruth consists of four short 
chapters. The first chapter is an account of Naomi 
and her two daughters and what they did when their 
home was broken up by the death of their husbands. 
The second, third and fourth chapters relate the 
courtship and marriage of Boaz and Ruth. At the 
conclusion of the last chapter there is given the lineage 
of King David and how he was related to Boaz and 
Ruth. Jesus Christ came through the royal line of 
David. 

This book with that of Esther are the only two in 
the Bible named after women. 

We have here a charming picture of pastoral life 
which we miss in the Book of Judges, which precedes 
it and that of Samuel, which follows it. 

To read the Book of Judges, or even of Samuel, it 
would seem that people were always fighting. There 
are many valiant men but their deeds are deeds of 
blood. It is one war after another. 

In Ruth there are no wars recorded. There are no 
battles mentioned. Here are good men and women 
engaged in peaceful pursuits. Here is a fertile valley, 
set between grim and stern mountains. There are 


Ruth 49 


flowers and fields, rich with waving grain, where 
every prospect pleases. 

The Story is Simply Told.—It reads so easily 
that there is danger that its significance be lost. This 
is true of all really great tales. 

Elimelech, his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, 
Mahlon and Chilion, in a time of famine, emigrate 
from Bethlehem to Moab. They sought better con- 
ditions. But in Moab they do not seem to have pros- 
pered. Elimelech died as did his two sons. The two 
sons, who had married in Moab, left Ruth and Orpah 
widows. What more natural than that Naomi should 
seek to return to Bethlehem, as she did. One 
daughter-in-law, Ruth, insisted on returning with her. 

The Love of Ruth for Naomi is. something 
unique. A like tale is not recorded anywhere in the 
literature of the world. There are abundance of ex- 
amples of the love of a young woman for her parents, 
her brothers and sisters, of her lover, her husband, 
of friends of the same age, but that a young woman 
should profess such a strong and undying affection 
for her mother-in-law, a woman of maybe twice her 
‘age or more, is something entirely out of the 
ordinary. But there is not the slightest doubt that 
this affection existed in its purest and most unselfish 
form. Ruth’s declaration of this love leaves no doubt 
of this—Ruth 1: 15-18. 

This picture is worth while looking at in its ex- 
altation of a pure affection which begun without the 
slightest hope of any material reward but which was 
so abundantly rewarded. This account makes us 
think better of human nature. It lifts us up and 
exalts us. 


50 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


It is totally unlike some modern tales that we read. 
For instance, the story of the talented young woman, 
anxious for an education and all that might come 
from it. Her mother, a widow, sympathized with 
her. She planned and schemed and went without 
that the daughter might have this education, but in 
doing this she grew worn and faded and wrinkled. 
The daughter was valedictorian of her class. She 
was ashamed of her mother’s looks, acquired in her 
service, and determined that she should not come to 
the graduation exercises. But when the day came, 
the mother was there on the front seat, in an old, 
faded dress. The daughter, coming down from the 
platform, pretended not to see her mother and passed 
her by. Her name was not Ruth. 

The Arrival in Bethlehem.—Everyone seems to 
have known Naomi before she left Bethlehem and 
when she returned “All the city was moved ”— 
ch. 1:19. Everyone was naturally curious as to how 
she had prospered. When it was learned that she 
had come home, in sorrow and empty handed, there 
was an immediate falling off in interest. Then too, 
she had brought a daughter-in-law who had nothing. 
There might have been those who would have invited 
Naomi to lodge with them but they had no room for 
two. As long as her kinsfolk did not ask her to come 
and stay with them, she was too proud to go to them 
with a tale of her woes. It was a rather sad home- 
coming. 

The Need of Food was very strong. What 
could be done about it? No one wanted any work 
done. All the occupations were filled. Ruth comes 
to the front as “A Dependable Woman.” She 


Ruth 51 


wasted no time over regrets in taking the step that 
she did. She does not reproach Naomi for the total 
lack of interest on the part of her friends and rela- 
tives. Yet if anything will make a man or woman 
complain, and utter sharp words, it is the inability to 
get food to eat. 

Ruth notices that it is “ The beginning of barley 
harvest.” She thinks a plan out by herself before she 
proposes it to her mother-in-law. She will go and 
glean after the reapers. She is not ashamed to take 
her place with the sad, the poor and the outcast, for 
of such were the gleaners. How did Ruth feel about 
this matter of this low order of work? It is not re- 
corded. But we are quite sure that she was not 
ashamed of it. She did not make Naomi feel that 
she was better out of the way. They talked of this 
“Gleaning’”’ as if it were the most natural thing in 
the world and the right thing to do. 

Courtship of Ruth. How naturally this thing 
came about. Naomi knew all along who Boaz was, 
in whose fields Ruth had chanced to go when she went 
to glean. She did not tell Ruth. She was no match- 
maker. Even when her daughter-in-law came home 
with the news that she was gleaning in the fields of 
Boaz, nothing was said about his being a near kins- 
man. It was Boaz, attracted by Ruth, who told her 
that he knew all about her and of her kindness and 
care for her mother-in-law. After this it was Naomi’s 
turn to tell Ruth about the kinship. This is a real 
romance and a genuine love story. Read it for your- 
self. But and if Ruth had not been kind to Naomi, 
when her fortunes were at the lowest ebb, no such 
fortune would have been hers. 


52 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Marriage.—This is recorded in chapter 4: 13-22. 
This is one of the high places in the Old Testament. 

Secret of Ruth’s Getting On.—When any really 
great success in life is made there are always ample 
causes for it. 

There are here, in Ruth: 

1—Ability to Decide for Right Things when such 
a decision seems to involve great hardships. 

2—Adherence to Such a Decision under continued 
adverse circumstances. 

3—Making Another Person Feel that You Can be 
Depended Upon. ; 

4—Unselfish Love and willingness to suffer and 
work for another less fortunately situated. 

5—Great Faith in God and humanity. 

Questions.—What can be said of the three 
women of the Book of Ruth? Ruth, a dependable 
woman? Naomi, a sensible woman? Orpah, an 
emotional woman? Give an account of the Book of 
Ruth. How is the story simply told? Describe the 
love of Ruth for Naomi. Give an account of the ar- 
rival in Bethlehem. What of the need of food? What 
of the courtship and marriage of Ruth? Give five 
points in the secret of Ruth’s getting on. 


VII 
HANNAH 


MOTHER OF A GREAT PROPHET 


The Advent of Hannah marks an exceedingly 
favourable turning point in the affairs of the Israel- 
ites. A central government is set up. The loosely 
associated tribes become a strong and vigorous nation. 

Samuel, the son of Hannah, was the leader in this 
betterment movement. His brilliant and well deserved 
fame is apt to throw a shadow upon the greatness of 
Hannah which we desire to show, without this shadow, 
in this study. 

The Bible, in comparatively few instances, gives us 
the early childhood history of its heroes, but in the 
case of Samuel it is given in full. 

Hannah in the first two chapters of the First Book 
of Samuel is accorded all credit for what she did in 
the training of her great son for the splendid task 
which he accomplished in the face of what seemed, 
at the time, insurmountable difficulties. 

She is No Subordinate or Weak Character. She 
knows just exactly what she wants. She prays for 
a son. A son is born to her. 

She knows what she wants her son to do. She sets 
his feet in the path of what he afterwards did with 
such success. 

She does not allow him to grow up anyway and any- 


how, but plans his training in accordance with what 
53 


54 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


are now considered the most advanced and scientific 
methods of child culture. 

Hannah, in Some Respects, is Greater than Samuel. 
Elkanah, her husband, does not seem to have been in 
sympathy with her. Her environment was not 
favorable. She had to break away from old tradi- 
tions and blaze a new trail. 

The Old Order of Things, when the first book 
of Samuel opens, was bad; about as bad as it could 
be. Since the death of Joshua and all through the 
period of the time described in the Book of The 
Judges, things seemed to be deteriorating and going 
from bad to worse. Instead of drawing together the 
tribes were getting farther apart. They were lapsing 
from the high standards of morality and spirituality, 
set up by Moses in the “ Ten Commandments,” into 
the loose ways of the idolatrous peoples about them. 
The high priest, Eli, was a good but weak old man. 
His sons had no regard for their religious office or 
even common decency. They scorned their father 
and his advice and exhortations—Ch. 2: 12-17 and 
22-25. The end seemed in sight when the ‘“‘ Chosen 
Nation’ would cease to function as “ The People of 
Jehovah.” 

The New Order of Things and how it was 
brought about is told in the First and Second Books 
of Samuel. Instead of sporadic attempts at reform, 
as in the Book of Judges, Hannah is chosen and she 
trains Samuel, from his earliest infancy, for his task. 
It is a new method, the long way around, but it 
worked. When the record is finished, everything is 
changed for the better. There is no longer any ques- 
tion as to the survival of Israel. Hannah takes her 


Hannah 55 


seat amongst “ The Mighty Ones,” appointed to do a 
work for her people which is unique. 

Place of Hannah.—She had a strong person- 
ality and an important mission. She did not have 
the independence of Miriam, the ability to lead men 
like Deborah or the decision of Ruth. She worked 
on an entirely different line. If you had lived, when 
she did, and had met her some day when she was go- 
ing to the temple to see her son, you might have had 
the impression that she was a quiet home body with 
nothing remarkable about her. If you had talked 
with her, the impression would not probably have 
been altered. Her mission had not then come to its 
flowering time, as we See it now. 

Claim to Fame.—lIt is a large one. Her portrait 
occupies a conspicuous place in the Bible Gallery 
which is “ The World’s Gallery of Lasting Fame” 
for men and women who have done the very greatest 
things. 

She Trained and Inspired Another Soul to do that 
which she did not feel that she was capable of doing. 
She subordinated herself to this work with a whole- 
hearted enthusiasm. In placing her boy in the temple, 
that he might have a better opportunity to be trained, 
she put aside her mother feelings and desires. For 
the most part, people who find that they cannot carry 
out their plans to do what they want to do, give up 
and lapse back into doing nothing. Hannah had a 
new conception of life and its possibilities in the life 
of her son. She sought to inspire him with her high 
ideals, hopes and aspirations. How effectively she 
did this is shown by the record. 

Culture of a Child.—We, in our day, are com- 


56 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


ing to recognize the possibilities in a child and the 
necessity of bringing them out by the proper train- 
ing. This cannot be done by haphazard methods. 
It is painstaking, careful work. We now have many 
books on this subject. Schools with trained teachers 
abound. Hannah had no books but she seems to have 
anticipated, in her treatment of Samuel, all that is 
worth while in the modern methods and successfully 
used them. 

Grasp of the Future.—Hannah had a wide and 
far-seeing vision of what she wanted Samuel to be- 
come. She did not look forward to ten or twenty 
or forty or fifty years of service but longer. She said 
when she brought him to the temple—Ch. 1:27, 28— 
“For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given 
me my petition, which I asked of him: Therefore also 
I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he 
shall be lent to the Lord.” She knew the sore need 
of her people. She had seen temporary leaders 
come and go, do a little work, and leave things much 
as they were before. It is comparatively easy to get 
people to undertake things that are limited in their 
scope to a few months or possibly years, but to enlist 
for a lifetime service—that is different. All honour 
to Hannah, who, home body that she was, had this 
vision of a far-reaching lifetime service. It is this 
forelook which the Bible urges upon every one. 

Personal Characteristics—These are many. 
Let us consider a few of them. 

Poetess of No Mean Rank. Her song, recorded 
in First Samuel 2: 1-10, shows poetical ability of the 
highest order. It is fully equal to any of the Psalms 
of David. Here God’s attributes of power, holiness, 


Hannah | 57 


knowledge, majesty and purity are wonderfully set 
forth. Confidence in God is urged, without which 
there can be no stable belief in anything or any in- 
centive to work. 

Prophetess—Ch. 2:9, 10. Hannah shows her 
grasp of the future in these two verses. She has seen 
the plan of things and her soul is satisfied. 

Spiritual. She moves and has her being in accord. 
with God. acral 

A Good»-Mother. This goes without comment. 
Every line of what is written about her life breathes 
of her love and care for her son. 

Work Through Samuel.—No man ever did a 
larger or greater work for his country. When he 
came to manhood, after his training by his mother, 
and his call by God—Ch. 3—he found Israel dis- 
rupted at home and despised abroad. 

He changed everything for the better without 
violent or revolutionary methods. He was quiet and 
calm but exceedingly effective in all that he did. 

1—Samuel Responded to the Care and Culture Be- 
stowed Upon Him by His Mother. There never 
seems to have been any departure from the lines laid 
down for him by her. 

2—He Was the Last One of the Judges and One of 
the First Ones of the Prophetic Order. This was a 
new order separate from the priesthood. Up to this * 
time the priest has been the chosen one through whom 
God communicated His will to His people. Now the 
prophet to a large extent takes his place. He repre- 
sented the independence of the moral portion of the 
people as distinct from government or priestly en- 
actment. 


58 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Schools were established in which prophets were 
trained for their work much like our theological 
seminaries. 

Instruction was given in the Sacred Books and in 
poetry. The pupils were taught to play upon musical 
instruments. 

The results were far-reaching. The graduates of 
these schools became teachers of religion and of 
patriotism. They made copies of The Sacred Law 
and kept the text free from error. They became the 
preachers to the people. They denounced national, 
family and individual sins. They encouraged the 
people in times of trial and disaster. Some, but not 
all, possessed and exercised prophetic gifts. The 
prophets had much to do with the raising of the stand- 
ards of morality and spirituality. 

3—Founder of the Israelitish Monarchy. It is 
plainly evident that God intended this nation to live 
diectly under His own guidance and care. But it 
did not seem capable of living up to this high ideal. 
When the people asked for a king, Samuel was di- 
rected to grant their request. 

He anointed two kings, in succession, over the 
nation. First, Saul—Ch. 10—and second, David— 
Ch. 16. Saul proved unworthy of the post and was 
removed from his high office. David proved wholly 
worthy of the trust reposed in him and, under him, 
great glory and power came to this people. 

4__He Was a Man with Clean Hands. He Prided 
Himself Upon His Integrity—Ch. 12:1-5. He re- 
garded public office as a public trust. When he 
resigned his leadership of Israel after he had anointed 
Saul king, in laying down his office, “ Samuel said 


Hannah 59 


unto all Israel, Behold I have hearkened unto your 
voice in all that ye said unto me and have made a 
king over you. And now behold the king walketh be- 
fore you: and I am old and greyheaded; and behold 
my sons are with you: and I have walked before you 
from my childhood unto this day. Behold here I am, 
witness against me before the Lord, and before his 
anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have 
I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I 
oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any 
bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore 
it to you.” What more could Samuel say? What 
greater appeal could he make? Few men at the close 
of such a public career as Samuel had would dare 
to say what he did, because it could not be said with 
truth. 

5—The People Applauded Samuel’s Address and. 
said—“ Thou hast not defrauded us or oppressed us, 
neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand.” 
Taken all in all, there is no greater figure in the his- 
tory of Israel. 

The Appreciation of Hannah, who lives in the 
fame of her prophet son, cannot be too great. 

Questions.— What can be said of the advent of 
Hannah? What about her character? How is she, 
in some respects, greater than Samuel? What can 
be said of the old order of things? How was the new 
order brought about? What is the place of Hannah? 
What is her claim to fame? The culture of her child? 
What was Hannah’s grasp of the future? Give her 
personal characteristics. What was her work through 
Samuel? Name the five points. 


VIII 
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA 


THE SEEKER AFTER WISDOM 


The Desire for Knowledge.—In our “ Studies 
of Famous Bible Women” we come now to a new 
type—*The Seeker After Wisdom.” 

If we judge from the large and increasing numbers 
of young women enrolling in our institutions of 
learning, and their eagerness in the pursuit of knowl- 
edge, we might say that this is a purely modern 
development. 

But, in this matter, the Queen of Sheba was cer- 
tainly a pioneer. She undertook a long and tedious 
journey, at a fabulous cost, in order that she might 
increase her stock of knowledge. On her part, no 
effort was too great, and no price too high, in order 
that she might pass through the inner doors to a 
higher wisdom. 

The Queen of Sheba—the Pupil. 

She is credited with being the ruler of the Great 
Kingdom of Southern Arabia. What we know of 
her life, so far as the Bible is concerned, is written 
in ten verses of the tenth chapter of the Book of 
I Kings, and a parallel account in II Chronicles 
9: 1-12. 

Outside the Bible there are endless tales of her 
beauty of person, power, and royal magnificence. 
But the Scriptural account is so well written, so en- 
lightening, that it has given to her a world-wide un- 


dying fame. Who is there who does not know of 
60: 


Queen of Sheba 61 


this young queen who came up from the South “ To 
Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that 
bare spices, and. very much gold, and precious 
stones?” Of the hardships of the journey, the long 
nights and weary days of slow travel, nothing is 
recorded, for they would not be worthy to be con- 
sidered in such a quest for the higher learning. 

King Solomon—the Teacher. 

Third King of the Israelitish Kingdom. He suc- 
ceeded his father, David, who had been a mighty man 
in his day, consolidated the tribes, and ruled over a 
united and prosperous people from his capitol, the 
city of Jerusalem. Never were the prospects brighter 
for a nation, than when Solomon took his place on 
the throne. 

A Great Builder. The account of these building 
operations is found in I Kings, chapters six to ten, 
inclusive. He was seven years in constrneting a 
“House of God” or what is known as “ Solomon’s 
Temple,” one of the wonders of the world in its time. 
Gold and silver were used here as base metal is used 
elsewhere. He was thirteen years in building his own 
palace and in practically remaking the city with new 
streets, walls, and public service edifices. In the daz- 
zling beauty of these new architectural creations, 
Solomon held his court. 

A Mighty Ruler. He strengthened his kingdom 
at home and made alliances with the nations round 
about. 

The Wise Man, “The Wisest Man of the East.” 
As such he was known throughout his world. His 
fame traveled far. The source of his wisdom is set 
down in the third chapter of I Kings. It is related 


62 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


that when God asked him his chief request, in the 
beginning of his rule, that Solomon desired “ Wis- 
dom” above everything—‘ Give therefore thy serv- 
ant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that 
I may discern between good and bad: for who is able 
to judge this, thy so great a people? ”—I Kings 3:9. 

The Visit of the Royal Pupil to the Royal 
Teacher.—Great preparations must have been 
made upon both sides. Embassies must have been 
sent up from the South to Jerusalem to see if such a 
visit would be welcome. After the embassies had 
completed their work then came the task of making 
ready the caravan and getting together the gifts 
to be presented, or the tuition fees. Equal prepara- 
tions must have been made on the part of Solomon 
to receive so great a company into his city, his college. 

What the Queen of Sheba did not Come For.— 
It was not a visit of state, or to make a new treaty of 
any sort or kind. It was not to behold solely the 
magnificence of the court of Solomon, although it 
was great. It was not to gaze upon the fine buildings 
of Jerusalem. If the Queen of Sheba had desired 
to do any of these things she could have done them 
to much better advantage in Egypt or gone on further 
to Nineveh or Babylon, where things were on a much 
grander scale than even Solomon could offer. Her 
court was no small thing. 

The Real Purpose of the Visit—Of this we are 
not left in the slightest doubt. The narrative is very 
explicit—“ She came to prove him (Solomon) with 
hard questions ”’—I Kings 10:1. She was insatiable 
in her desire for knowledge. 

She was of that class of young women who, enter- 


Queen of Sheba 63 


ing college halls, delight the professors with their 
eagerness to master the subjects presented in the 
classrooms. 

She asked a thousand and one questions “ And 
Solomon told her all her questions: there was not 
anything hid from the king that he told her not ’’— 
I Kings 10: 3. 

Of these questions and answers there are many ac- 
counts in the literature of the East. 

Here is something to be considered by those who 
think that the Bible is only concerned with religious 
matters and has no concern with those that interest 
the mind. Both are set forth. 

Here was a college for young women, with one 
teacher and one pupil, but both made up in eagerness 
to receive and impart learning with any institution of 
learning that has a thousand students and many 
teachers. 

The Queen of Sheba asked questions and received 
replies until she was satisfied and “There was no more 
spirit in her.” She said to the king—“ It was a true 
report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and 
thy wisdom”—I Kings 10:6. 

The Wisdom Sought embraced all the subjects 
upon which men cannot help thinking. If we turn 
o “ The Wisdom Literature of The Bible” we will 
see how these subjects are treated. 

The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of 
wisdom. It will serve as an example of some of the 
things which were brought up between the see of 
Sheba and Solomon. ie 

It Begins as Follows—The introduction is short 
and to the point. “ The proverbs of Solomon, the 


64 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


son of David, the king of Israel. To know wisdom 
and instruction; to perceive the words of understand- 
ing: To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and 
judgment and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, 
to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise 
man will hear and will increase learning; and a man 
of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. 
To understand a proverb and the interpretation; the 
words of the wise and their dark sayings. The fear 
of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools 
despise wisdom and instruction. My son hear the 
instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of 
thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace 
upon thy head, and chains about thy neck. My son 
if sinners entice thee consent thou not. If they say, 
Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk 
privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swal- 
low them up alive as the grave; and whole as those 
that go down into the pit. . . . My son, walk not thou 
in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their 
path. . . . Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her 
voice in the streets. She crieth, in the chief place of 
concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city, 
saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love sim- 
plicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, 

and fools hate knowledge? ”’—Proverbs, first chapter. 
There Are Two Voices and Two Ways Set Forth 
in this Book. 

The first voice utters words of wisdom, under- 
standing, knowledge, prudence, instruction and 
discretion. 

The second voice utters words of folly, simplicity, 
brutishness, stupidity, ignorance and villainy. 

‘Wisdom is personified. She utters her voice in 


Queen of Sheba | 65 


the broad places, at the head of noisy streets. The 
simple pay no heed. They fall into the trap set for 
their feet. 

Folly also utters her invitation in the same places. 
“Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither where 
stolen waters are sweet and forbidden fruit is 
tempting ” but “her guests are in the depths of hell.” 
Note the graphic picture painted in chapters eight 
and nine. The problem is up to everyone as to which 
voice he will heed and in what way he will walk. 

A Strong Feature of this wisdom literature is that 
it will not admit of any conflict between the world 
of nature and God. Religion here is good sense, 
mastery of affairs, a well furnished intellect and the 
best means for the highest ends. To the Hebrew 
mind, God is in every event. His presence is near. 
His care is over all. There are not two worlds but 
one. Not two lives but one. There is not a question 
that is not here discussed—Who is God? What is 
man? What is our purpose in the world? What is 
good sense in business? How make the most of life? 

The Purpose of the Book is practical. It is to in- 
struct everyone reading it so that the very utmost 
success can be attained in life. Here are good, wise, 
witty, sarcastic, helpful, scornful, stinging, upbuilding 
proverbs but every one is framed to keep us on the 
right, and turn our feet from the wrong road. 

It is Divided into Seven Paris. Each part dis- 
tinct in itself and well worth the most careful study. 

1—The Praise of Wisdom. Chapters 1-9. The 
speaker addresses the reader as, “My Son.” The 
benefits and greatness of wisdom are shown. 

2—The Proverbs of Solomon. Chapters 10 to 


66 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


22:16. A large number of wise sayings with no com- 
mon topic. 

3—The Sayings of the Wise. Chapter 22:17 to 
24th chapter. No common topic. Proverbs by dif- 
ferent authors. 

4A Collection of Solomon’s Proverbs. Chapters 
25 to 29. Some of the oldest and best of ‘“‘ The Wise 
King’s Sayings.”’ Well worth study. 

5—The Words of Agur. Chapter 30. This is a 
sermon prophecy rather than a set of proverbs. He 
deals with a topic which seems to be beyond him. 

6—The Words of King Lemuel. Chapter 31: 1-9. 
The duty of kings. 

7—An Acrostic Poem. Chapter 31:10-31. In 
praise of a woman who is a good wife, home maker, 
and business woman. 

The Proverbs for Study, if there is only limited 
time, should be the ones in chapters 25 to 29, inclu- 
sive, of King Solomon. 

Questions.—What can be said of the desire for 
knowledge? How was the Queen of Sheba a pioneer? 
Give some account of the queen. Give some account 
of King Solomon as a great builder, mighty ruler and 
wise man. What can be said of the visit of the royal 
pupil to the royal teacher? What did the queen not 
come for? What was the real purpose of the visit? 
Of what did the wisdom sought consist? What can 
be said of the Book of Proverbs, how does it begin, 
what of the two voices and the two ways, the strong 
feature, the purpose, how is it divided, of what do 
the different sections treat? 


IX 
THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH 


FAITH UNDER DIFFICULTIES 


The Story of the Widow of Zarephath is an 
incident in the career of the prophet Elijah. It is 
told in full in I Kings 17:8-24. There are only 
seventeen short verses. They are filled with an in- 
tense human interest. 

The fiery reformer, Elijah, suddenly comes upon 
the scene of action—I Kings 17:1—to proclaim a 
famine, of several years’ duration, on account of the 
evil course of Ahab, king of Israel—I Kings 
16 : 28-34. 

While waiting for the end of the famine, the 
prophet is fed by “ The Widow of Zarephath.” The 
place is thought to be the modern Sarafend, about 
thirteen miles north of Tyre, on the spur of the 
mountain which divides the plain of Tyre from that 
of Sidon. 

Facing a Hard Situation.—Poverty of any kind 
is not easy to bear. But that of “ The Widow,” at 
this time, was a biting one. It was removed only one 
step from utter destitution and starvation. Her 
ordinary resources were meager, at the best, but now 
they were so lowered that she could not look forward 
to any prospest for to-morrow, after to-day’s scanty 
supply of food had been eaten. Her neighbours 
might not have been much better off. 

A Singular Request. When therefore the prophet 

67 


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Elijah appears before her, asking to share her little 
bit of food, she must have been very much surprised. 
We have to remember that she did not know about 
“The Prophet” as we do. He came to her as a 
travel-stained and worn old man, with long hair and 
beard. He says nothing about who he is or the nature 
of his mission. He asks first for a drink of water. 
As she went to get it “ He cailed to her and said, 
Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine 
hand ”’—I Kings 17:11. 

The Astonishment of the Woman at this Request 
is reflected in the narrative. It doubtless seemed to 
her that he ought to know the condition of things in 
this famine time. Why, she said—‘ As the Lord thy 
God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal 
in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I 
am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress 
it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die ”’— 
1 Kings) 17} 12, 

This Woman Faces Her Trouble. She blames no 
one. She is self-respecting in her dire need. She 
does not rail at anything or anybody about the injus- 
tice of things. She does not mention anything about 
the inequalities of life. She does nothing about or- 
ganizing a mob to raid the shops for the necessities 
of life as has been so often done when hunger presses 
beyond a certain point. 

Courage, of the rarest kind, is manifested. We 
marvel at the pluck of “ The Widow of Zarephath,” 
whose name is withheld from ts. It is comparatively 
easy to have courage when there is something tang- 
ible to fight, but the slow approach of starvation is in- 
tangible, and who can fight it? It ordinarily calls out 


Widow of Zarephath 69 


the meanest and bitterest things in the heart of man. 
A celebrated English novelist once wrote—“ It is only 
by the candle held in the skeleton hand of poverty, 
that a man can see his own dark heart.” History has 
again and again illustrated the truth of what he has 
said. But here is the rare exception. 

“The Candle of Poverty,” which lights up the soul 
of this woman, finds no bitterness, no sourness, no 
dark railings against fate, no comparisons of her 
evil lot with the good lot of others. We see here, a 
fine courage. 

Kindness.—With what bitter scorn “The 
Widow” might have answered the request of 
Elijah for food! She might have asked him what 
he expected in this famine-stricken land! She might 
have poured out upon him the vials of her wrath. She 
might have bidden him “ To get along on his way and 
ask where people were able to give rather than to take 
the last morsel of food out of her mouth.” 

She did none of these things. Notice the kindliness 
of her manner. She would gladly help if she could, 
but the puzzle to her is, how is she going to do any- 
thing. Turning the whole thing over in her mind, 
she seems to resolve to put the whole thing up to this 
old man who is asking “ Impossibilities.”’ She has 
only a little meal and a little oil to make a small cake 
for herself and her son. Now, if he were in her place, 
what would he do? She did not want to withhold 
anything. She wants to be kind. But here are the 
facts in the case. What can best be done? What 
more royal spirit ever dwelt in the heart of a woman 
than this? 

First Trial of Faith—The Jews have a say- 


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ing—‘‘ When the tale of bricks is doubled then comes 
Moses.” This was a dark hour in the life of this 
woman. 

What must have been the perplexity of the woman, 
after she had stated her case, to have the prophet tell 
her to go ahead with her baking and to use up the 
meal and the oil and to serve him first. “ Serve 
him first ’—yes, that was what he said. To be sure 
the man said that “The Lord God of Israel saith, 
The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the 
cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth 
rain upon the earth.” But how was she to know that 
this man spoke rightly? Suppose she did as directed 
and the promise did not come true? What could be 
done about it? Nothing, nothing at all. She and her 
son would starve to-day and not to-morrow. ‘The 
decision had to be made. 

Then as now—* Faith is the substance of things 
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” There 
always has to be a venture. The woman made the 
venture and the words of the prophet came true— 
“And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the 
cruse of oil fail.” She and her son did not die on the 
morrow as she feared. They lived because of her 
faith. 

This is an old story but its teaching is as true to- 
day as it was in the long past. We must venture be- 
fore we can have the things we desire. This woman 
was offered a partnership with God. What an offer 
it was! The same offer is made to-day to every one 
to share our substance with God, on the same terms. 
What will we do with the offer? 

The Reward of Faith and Hospitality. It must 


Widow of Zarephath 71 


have been a great surprise to this woman to find that 
the plan worked. However much she might have 
hoped that the plan would work she could not be 
certain. Her courage, her kindliness, her faith and 
her self-respect, all helped along, This was good 
ground. We are taught and are slowly coming to be- 
lieve that anger, hatred and kindred things, cherished 
and exercised, will do us personal physical, mental, 
and moral harm. Why not believe that the virtues, 
as exercised by this woman, will do equal good? 

If this woman had let come into her heart all the 
evil things that clamoured to come in, when she was 
at her darkest hour, there would have been no chance 
for her faith to be exercised. All honour to “ The 
Widow of Zarephath,’ who would not be downed by 
her great trials. 

She showed a great hospitality when it seemed as 
if that would hurt both herself and her son. It is 
small wonder that she is given such large a place 
amongst the women of the Bible. 

The Second Trial of Faith.—The first has been 
passed. The second is now at hand. What is it? 
Why should she not rest from her labours? All 
things seemed to be going well until one day “ The 
Widow’s Son” is taken sick. “ And his sickness was 
so sore that there was no breath left in him.” This 
woman’s heart is torn with an anguish unspeakable. 
She, who could face starvation with her son, cannot 
bear to face his death alone. What shall she do? 
What can she do? This is indeed a trial! 

But now she knows what to do and where to go. 
In the first trial she was stoical, to a certain degree. 
The source of help approached her. Elijah laid before 


72 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


her his proposition. In this second trial she shows 
that she has learned where to go to receive help. This 
is a great advance. 

But let us not suppose that this woman is not 
human. She approaches Elijah with blame for him 
and blame for herself. This is most natural. She 
thinks that she has done something, has sinned in 
some way, and that the death of her son is the pun- 
ishment for it. She connects “ This Man of God,” as 
she has come to regard him, with the penalty. 

This experience of having people blame themselves 
for sins of omission and commission, when their loved 
ones die, is a most common one to ministers, when, 
in fact, they are blameless. As for Elijah, he says 
nothing when the woman accuses him of a part in the 
penalty. He is also very human in his sympathy. 
He knows that this woman is beside herself with her 
grief, has done nothing evil and knows not what she 
is saying. Therefore he says nothing in return but 
what can be of help. He takes the boy and he is 
restored to his mother. 

The Vindication of Faith. Here is a higher step 
taken. Faith was rewarded in the first trial. Here, 
in the second, it is vindicated. The two trials have 
been searching to the last degree and the woman has 
come out from them conscious that her faith is on 
firm ground—I Kings 17: 24. 

In Conclusion. In studying the career of Elijah, 
of which this study is but an incident, we deal with 
matters of kings and queens and the affairs of na- 
tions. Things are on a large scale. It might well be 
said of most of us that we are not living on a big 
scale. Hence such stories, as that of “ The Widow 


Widow of Zarephath 73 


of Zarephath,” are, we think, put in that we may see 
that as God deals with “ The Greater Ones” in life 
so He deals with “ The Lesser Ones.” The situations 
and experiences are not far-fetched but those which 
are constantly recurring in different forms. 

Questions.—What can be said of the story of 
the widow of Zarephath? What about this woman 
facing a hard situation? What was the singular re- 
quest of Elijah? The astonishment of the woman?, 
What of “ The Widow’s” courage and kindliness? 
What was the first trial of faith and its reward? The 
second trial of faith and its vindication? What can 
be said in conclusion? ; 


x 


JEZEBEL 
THE RUTHLESS QUEEN 


The Name—Jezebel—What is in a name? 
Sometimes much and sometimes nothing at all. In 
this case it has become so packed with evil significance 
that no mother would think of naming her girl baby, 
“Jezebel.” To call any woman “ A Jezebel” would 
be equivalent to offering her a gross insult. 

A World-Wide Bad Reputation—How did 
this woman get this unsavory renown? It is an in- 
teresting study. The story extends over many years. 
It is all dark without a single light spot. It is told, 
in detail, from her marriage to Ahab, king of Israel, 
to her ignominious death—I Kings 16: 31 to II Kings 
9: 31-37. She pursued her reckless course, in spite 
of checks and warnings, to the bitter end. After the 
custom of the Scriptures there is little or no comment, 
only the facts are stated and left to make their own 
impression. 

Daughter of Ethbaal—King of the Zidonians.— 
Outwardly the Zidonians were great. They admin- 
istered large affairs. They had and displayed much 
wealth. In character they were cruel and rapacious. 
They stopped at nothing to carry out their purposes. 
The worship was that of Baal and Astarte in which 
at times, human sacrifices were offered and licentious 
practices were common. They catered to the lowest 


and basest instincts in human nature. They recog- 
74 


Jezebel 15 


nized no morality or virtue as we know them. The 
Zidonians had no use whatever for the religion of 
Jehovah with its “Ten Commandments” and its 
“Purities” and ‘ Moralities.’ They were not 
straightened in what they did by any considerations 
of the rights of any one so long as they had the 
power to crush all opposition. They rode rough shod 
over the weak and helpless. The king ruled by might 
and his will and word were absolute. 

The Princess, Jezebel, was like her father and her 
people in all their characterictics. What more natural 
than that she should be? As a young and headstrong 
woman she might have accentuated them. | 

Wife of Ahab—The King of Israel——He was 
the seventh in line, after Solomon, in the divided 
kingdom. It was the policy of Jeroboam, the first 
king after Solomon, to try to win the Israelites away 
from the worship of Jehovah in order that they might 
not unite with the kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem. 
Ahab, when he came to the throne, entered heartily 
into the policy of Jeroboam to win the Israelites from 
the religion of their fathers—I Kings 16: 30-33. 

In Marrying Jezebel Ahab found an able helper, 
who proposed not to be troubled by any scruples 
whatsoever in rooting up and destroying the old 
religion of Israel. In this she would take a perfect 
delight. As queen, with absolute power, her oppor- 
tunities to work her will, would be unlimited. She 
took advantage of every one of them. Aided and 
abetted by his wife “ Ahab did more to provoke the 
Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Is- 
rael that were before him ’’—I Kings 16: 33. 

An Apt Pupil in Evil—It might be said of 


76 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Jezebel that she was a product of the court in which 
she was brought up and of the condition of affairs 
in which she found herself in the Israelitish court, 
after her marriage. Much might be said with truth, 
along this line. But the fact is that this woman was 
no weakling. She had a mind of her own. Strong 
as Ahab was, she dominated him again and again. 
She took charge of situation after situation to make 
it bend to her will. She became what she did because 
that was what she desired to be. She resisted any 
influence to which she did not wish to yield. 

A Strong and Cruel Personality—No one can 
deny the strength of the personality of Jezebel. She 
was self-centered. She asked no advice and cared for 
none in making up her mind and carrying out her 
plans. Others must bow to her ways, not she to them. 
In this she was a true Zidonian. 

She was ruthless in what she did without the slight- 
est compunction of conscience. She was more like 
some huge machine, rolling along a road, maiming 
and killing people, without stopping for anything 
until it reached its destination. 

She banished and killed the prophets of Jehovah. 
She tore down His altars and set up the altars and 
images of Baal and Astarte with their inhuman and 
licentious orgies. 

The Attempt to Kill the Prophet Elijah 
—I Kings 19:2. The whole story ought to be 
read as it is set down in I Kings 17:1 to 19:18. 
It begins with an account of the attempt to bring 
Ahab and Jezebel to their senses in what they were 
doing to destroy the old religion of Jehovah. 

After expostulation and warnings have been ex- 


Jezebel 77 


hausted, a three years’ famine is proclaimed by Elijah. 
But the warning is unheeded by Ahab and Jezebel and 
the three years’ drought seems not to be cared for in 
any way. 

Then Elijah calls for a test as to—“ Who is God? ”’ 
Let him answer by fire, in consuming a sacrifice. This 
test is made in the open air on Mt. Carmel. The 
prophets of Baal, a great number of them, call all 
day on Baal to answer by fire, in the consumption of 
their sacrifice but they get no answer. When the 
evening comes on, Elijah alone calls on Jehovah, who 
answers by fire, at once consuming the sacrifice. Then 
Elijah predicts the breaking of the drought which 
comes to pass with an abundance of rain. Ahab is 
convinced of the power of Jehovah, as are the people. 

Jezebel is unconvinced by this mighty display of 
Jehovah’s power and greatness. She is only con- 
temptuous and angry. Instead of being overawed, 
she is defiant. Is she afraid? Not so. This is an 
attitude characteristic of this woman. It is what 
might be expected. She goes further. 

Jezebel Threatens the Prophet Who Escapes Her. 
She will show her contempt. She sends a “ Mes- 
senger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, 
and more also, if I make not thy life as one of them 
(referring to the Baal prophets who died on Mt. 
Carmel), by to-morrow about this time ’’—I Kings 
19:2. It is not her fault that she did not slay Elijah. 

The futility of attempting to convince those who 
do not want to be convinced, of the greatness of 
Jehovah and the glory of purity and righteousness, is 
set forth in the experience of Elijah when he fled 
from Jezebel into the wilderness and was utterly dis- 


78 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


couraged. The Lord, it is shown, may not be in the. 
strong wind, the great earthquake, but in “A still, 
small voice.” Read I Kings 19: 9-12. 

Jesus Christ calls attention to this matter when 
He declares that those who do not want to believe 
will not be “ Persuaded, though one rose from the 
dead ”—Luke 16: 30, 31. That God is perfectly able 
to take care of His interests is shown in the instruc- 
tions given to Elijah to anoint Jehu, in place of 
Ahab, king of Israel—I Kings 19:13-18. Ahab 
and Jezebel are declared to be dethroned. The de- 
cree has gone forth, soon to be executed. 

The Cold-Blooded Murder of Naboth, to steal 
his vineyard. Here the real character of Jezebel 
comes out in its unmistakable colours. The whole 
story is told in the twenty-first chapter of the First 
Book of Kings. Ahab had a palace at Jezreel which 
city was on the border of the tribe of Issacher. Near 
by Naboth had a vineyard. The king wanted it. He 
offered to buy it or give another place in exchange. 
But as it had belonged in Naboth’s family for a good 
while, he did not want to sell it. Ahab felt so badly 
about it that he refused food. His wife, Jezebel, find- 
ing out what was the matter, declared that she could 
not see, if he was king, why the matter could not be 
easily settled. She took charge of the affair. 

Notice her deliberate cunning. She wrote letters 
to the elders of the city, in the king’s name, sealing 
them with his seal. These letters directed that a 
fast be proclaimed and that Naboth be set on high 
amongst the people, but at the very moment of his 
triumph, he should be accused of blasphemy against 


Jezebel 79 


his God and his king by two false witnesses and that 
he should be stoned to death. 

The Diabolical Plan was Carried Out to the bitter 
end. Then Jezebel, having caused Naboth to be 
murdered, came to Ahab and told him to go in and 
take possession. There is not the slightest expres- 
sion of regret at what she has done. 

For a little time, all seems to go well. Ahab ex- 
presses no sorrow when he hears that Naboth has 
been killed. He goes down to take possession of his 
vineyard. 

The Dooms Pronounced Upon Ahab and 
Jezebel.—There is no doubt of the dominance of 
Jezebel over Ahab. She is the stronger personality. 
It was said of him—I Kings 21:25—“ There was 
none like Ahab who did sell himself to work wicked- 
ness in the sight of the Lord whom Jezebel, his wife, 
stirred up.” 

But wait! Is Ahab going to enter into what 
Jezebel has got for him by the murder of Naboth? 
It looks that way but it does not turn out that way. 
Elijah, who fled before Jezebel, has returned and 
meets him. There is here no calling down of fire 
from heaven but a setting before Ahab of his sins 
and his doom. Of Jezebel, the queen, the prophet 
predicts her death. It is not a pleasant thing to think 
about, that “ The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall 
of Jezreel.” Read about it in I Kings 21: 15-26. 

When Ahab heard the “ Dooms” pronounced, he 
humbled himself and repeated—I Kings 21 : 27-29— 
but there was. no turning back on the part of 
Jezebel. 

The Ignominious Death of Jezebel_—What 


80 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


word picture of that we are given in II Kings 9: 30- 
37. It is difficult to look at and consider in its awful 
details. It revolts our feelings. But it is of a piece 
with what she has been doing to others all her life. 

She was arrogant, vain, proud, cruel, sarcastic and 
mean to the last. She is in Jezreel when she hears 
of the coming of Jehu, the new king. She paints her 
face and arranges her hair to be attractive once more 
and looks out of the window. As she sees Jehu she 
sarcastically inquires—‘ Had Zimri peace who slew 
his master?’ Jehu looks up and inquiring, “ Who 
is on his side?” orders her to be thrown down. 
Then was this arrogant, cruel queen humbled in the 
dust, who had never humbled herself in any way to 
any one, but always rode rough shod over everyone 
who disputed her will. Jehu remembered when he 
came in that she was a king’s daughter, and ordered 
her buried, but they found only the remnants, after 
the dogs had done with her. 

Questions.—What can be said of the name— 
Jezebel? Give some account of her as the daughter 
of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians. Was the princess 
like her father and people? What can be said about 
her as the wife of Ahab? What did he find in 
Jezebel? Was she an apt pupil in evil? What can be 
said about her personality? Describe her relations 
with Elijah and her attempt to kill him. Give the 
account of Jezebel’s cold-blooded murder of Naboth. 
Tell something of the “ Dooms” pronounced upon 
Ahab and Jezebel. Describe the ignominious death 
of Jezebel. 


XI 
ESTHER 


SELF-SACRIFICE FOR A CAUSE 


Esther is the Heroine of the book which bears 
her name. 

From the condition of an orphan, in the humble 
home of her cousin, Mordecai, she rose to be the 
queen of one of the world’s greatest empires. 

After she became queen, she voluntarily placed her 
life in jeopardy in order that she might save her 
people from massacre. She is a striking example of 
a woman, who having everything, was willing to re- 
nounce all for a great cause. 

She is honoured not only by having a Bible book 
named after her but also in having her splendid act 
of renunciation and self-sacrifice commemorated in 

the yearly “ Purim Festival’’ even to our own time. 
~~ What She Did, and how she did it, is told in 
ten intensely interesting chapters. 

The Scene is laid in far-off Persia. It is in the 
palace of Ahasuerus, “ Who reigned, from India even 
unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty 
provinces ”—Esther 1: 1. 

A vast realm governed by a single despotic ruler, 
from a central city, with none of the modern means 
of communication and transportation which seem 
to us so essential to keep a nation one and in order, 

The palace was a huge magnificent building, fur- 
nished with oriental extravagance and luxury. 


There are Five Principal Characters.—They 
81 


82 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


are named in the order in which they appear in the 
book. 

Ahasuerus, who is supposed to be Xerxes, a volup- 
tuous and despotic ruler. While his will is absolute, 
he seems at times to be worked as a puppet by those 
who can manage to get hold of the controlling strings. 

History represents him as mighty and at the same 
time dissolute, vengeful and vain, but not without 
intelligence and a certain sense of justice. and gen- 
erosity. But what could be expected of a man with 
such unlimited power, surrounded by obsequious 
courtiers who flattered him and catered to every wish 
and desire, good, bad, indifferent? 

Vashti, the queen, deposed because she would not 
come and show her beauty before a crowd of men 
who had been on a drunken debauch for a week— 
Esther 1:10-22. All honour to Vashti, a noble 
woman ! 

Mordecai, a Jew, whose people had come from 
Judah and Jerusalem when Nubuchadnezzar had 
made them captive—Esther 2:5, 6. He _ had, 
evidently, some minor office in the palace. He is a 
man of strong character and convictions. He is an 
ardent patriot, looking after the interests of his own 
people, while loyally serving the Persian ruler— 
Esther 2: 21-23. 

Esther around whom the whole action centers. 
She is a “ Maid, fair and beautiful ”—Esther 2: 7— 
“ Whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were 
dead, took for his own daughter.” She was his 
cousin. 

Haman, a courtier, much thought of by the king. 
He was advanced, over all the princes to the first 


~ 


Esther 83 


place, next to his sovereign—FEsther 3:1. He was 
proud, egotistical and vain and versed in the art of 
flattery. A small caliber man in a high position. 
When his vanity was wounded by the refusal of 
Mordecai to do homage, he showed the cruelty of 
a ravening wild beast in seeking to destroy the race 
to which Mordecai belonged. 

The Story is of great dramatic power. “ Inci- 
dent after incident is related until the climax of dif- 
ficulty is reached and the knot is so tied that it seems 
impossible to escape. Then it is untied with wonder- 
ful dexterity.” 

The Crisis comes after the tales related of the 
great feasts given by the king and the casting down 
of Vashti from being queen because of her noble 
refusal to appear before a drunken crowd of men— 
chapter one. Esther is made queen in her place— 
chapter two. 

The Interest Begins when Haman, having been ad- 
vanced to the place next to the king, notices that Mor- 
decai does not bow to him and reverence him—3: 1-6. 
This is such a severe blow to the vanity of Haman 
that he cannot endure it. He seeks revenge in the 
most drastic form. He thinks it beneath him to 
take out his pique on so humble a person as Mor- 
decai. He therefore plots to get a decree from the 
king to massacre all the Jews, in the kingdom, on a 
certain day, under the plea that they are a menace 
to the well-being of the realm—chapter third. 

It has been asked—Why did Mordecai refuse to 
bow to and reverence Haman? It has been replied 
that Haman, in his extreme vanity, sought to have 
Divine reverence paid to him, which Mordecai, being 


84 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


a Jew, could not give him, without renouncing his 
religion, which he would not do. 

Matters Come to a Head when the king signs the 
decree for the destruction of the Jews and a time is 
appointed—3:8-15. Mordecai puts on_ sackcloth 
and ashes and cries aloud in the midst of the city— 
4:1-3. Doubtless Haman is very complacent, rubs 
his hands, and smiles and rejoices over the fact that, 
at last, he has got his enemy within his grasp. 

The Help of Esther is Sought to avert the 
awful calamity of the massacre of all the Jews in the 
Persian Empire. The whole matter is set before 
Esther, by Mordecai, when she sends to inquire why 
he is in sackcloth and ashes. The demand is made 
that she go at once to the king and put the matter up 
to him, that a way may be found to set aside the de- 
cree of destruction of her people. The whole action 

is found in chapters four to eight. 
~The First Demand is Made by Mordecai—Esther 
4:4-9--when he gives her a copy of the decree. He 
urges her to go before the king immediately. 

The Reply of Esther—4:10, 11—is that no one is 
allowed to come in unto the king, under pain of 
death, unless called. It is thought that this rule was 
made on account of the multitude of backdoor pe- 
titions which he had been receiving. There is a 
provision, however, by which, if the king holds out 
the golden scepter the petitioner may present a re- 
quest. Esther adds, in her reply to Mordecai, that 
she has not been called before the king these thirty 
days. She had evidently lost some favour. This 
loss of favour is thought to have been due to the in- 
trigue of Haman against her. 


Esther 85 


The Second Demand of Mordecat is for imme- 
diate action. He speaks plainly and bluntly. He 
reminds her that she is likely to perish in a general 
massacre. Again he tells her that, who knows but 
that she has come into her place for just such a 
mission—Esther 4: 13-17. 

The Reply of Esther. She rises to a great act of 
renunciation and self-sacrifice. She puts behind her 
her love of life and all her ambitions. These must 
have been very sweet to her, as a young and beauti- 
ful woman, at the beginning of a splendid career. 
She sends word to Mordecai, asking him to proclaim 
a three days’ fast for all the Jews present in Shushan 
and that she and her maids will also fast. “ And so 
will I go in unto the king which is not according to 
the law and if I perish, I perish ””—Esther 4: 16. 

Daring All to Save a People from Extermina- 
tion.—Esther fully realizes the tremendous risk 
of her venture. She knows that the favour or dis- 
favour of an oriental despot cannot be counted upon 
beforehand. So far as possible she will leave nothing 
to chance. She has sought Divine approbation by a 
fast. She displays good sense in the way she plans 
and carries out her plans—chapters five to eight. 

Ample Preparation is Made. She puts on her 
royal apparel—5 : 1—making herself as attractive as 
possible. Sackcloth and ashes were appropriate for 
Mordecai but not for the queen on her present mis- 
sion. In all this she displayed a remarkable knowl- 
edge of human nature, and put it into action. 

Waiting a Favourable Opportunity to present her 
petition. She might have said—“I have a right 
to be heard, I propose to be heard, I will be heard, 


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because I am the queen.” She did nothing of the 
kind. She did not presume on anything. She stood 
and waited “In the inner court of the king’s house ” 
until the king saw her—5: 2, 3. 

The Right Time Comes. The king sees her and 
extends to her the golden scepter. There is always 
a right time but it is not always easy to wait for it 
as this woman did. 

Enlisting the King’s Favour that her people 
may live and not be swept from the surface of the 
earth. Esther was planning large things and such 
things need time and care in bringing them to their 
full fruition. She goes very slowly, feeling her way. 
Here is no hasty action. Standing there in the court 
and being asked by the king what her petition is, 
she realizes that Haman has his friends here, who 
will report to him at once, any request for the rever- 
sal of the decree against the Jews. She exercises a 
fine sense of wisdom and infinite tact in her reply. 
She will meet both this Haman and the king to- 
gether and feel out how matters stand. Here Esther 
reveals herself as a diplomatic and able woman— 
chapters 5-7. 

The First Banquet. She invites the king and 
Haman to a feast. She can judge better what to do 
when Haman is off his guard. But Esther does not 
get the knowledge she wants at this time. ‘Wise 
woman! She can wait; hence her invitation to an- 
other feast the next night. 

In the Interval between the First and Second Ban 
quets, Divine Providence seems to take a_ hand. 
Haman cannot wait for the massacre of the Jews to 
have Mordecai killed and has prepared a gallows to 


Esther 87 


hang him. That night the king cannot sleep and 
asks that the chronicles of the kingdom be read to 
him. He finds there that Mordecai has saved his 
life and that no reward has been given to him— 
Esther 2:21-23 and 6:1-11. Haman is chosen and 
is obliged, by the king’s command, to honour Mor- 
decai by having put on him the king’s royal apparel. 
Then he has to conduct him, on horseback, through 
the streets proclaiming him as the man whom the 
king delights to honour. All this is a very bitter 
thing for Haman, for he had planned this honour 
for himself. 

The Second Banquet. It would seem from the 
way the narrative reads, that Esther was not yet 
aware of the honour done for her kinsman. Any- 
way, at this feast, when the king asks for her peti- 
tion, she has very evidently made up her mind. 

When boldness is required Esther does not hesi- 
tate. She at once accuses Haman of the vile plot to 
destroy her people. She uses in her charge, lan- 
guage that cannot be mistaken. In all this, we have 
to remember that it is quite a serious thing to accuse 
a man next to the king in power, of such under- 
hand plotting. ‘“ Then Esther the queen answered 
and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O 
king, and if it please the king, let my life be given 
me at my petition, and my people at my request: 
For we are sold, I] and my people, to be destroyed, 
to be slain, and to perish. But if we have been sold 
for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my 
tongue, although the enemy could not countervail 
the king’s damage. Then king Ahasuerus answered 
and said unto Esther, the queen, Who is he and 


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where is he, that durst presume, in his heart to do 
so? And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is 
this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid be- 
fore the king and queen ”’-——Esther 7: 3-6. 

The Character of Esther.—No one can read this 
book without realizing the strength and power of 
this woman. She knew how to plan. She knew 
when to go forward and when to hold back. She could 
for a great cause calmly risk her life. 

Before she was ready to accuse Haman she had 
gathered all the facts and knew how and when to 
state her case against him effectually. 

Here is no type of a shrinking harem woman, but 
one who would be an honour to any nation and be a 
great leader had she lived in our times. 

In the End of the Book we find Haman hanged 
on the gallows he had erected for Mordecai. His 
place, next to the king, is taken by Mordecai. The 
king cannot reverse his decree that the Jews be mas- 
sacred, but he issues new orders that they be allowed 
to defend themselves from their enemies. 

We cannot but wish that the king could have found 
another way out of his dilemma. We have, however, 
to remember that “The Oriental Potentate” of a 
bygone age had very little regard for human life and 
what he did with it. It was a small matter to him 
that he sanctioned civil war. We are learning to 
value human life but we are far from thinking of it 
as we ought, when we devote such a large portion of 
our revenues, even in peace times, to forging im- 
plements of war. Again, no ancient wars have ever 
been so destructive as our modern ones. 

Questions.— What can be said of Esther as the 


Esther 89 


heroine of her book? How many chapters in 
Esther? Where is the scene laid? What can be 
said of the five principal characters? Describe them. 
What can be said of this story? What of the crisis— 
when did it begin, how did matters come to a head? 
How was the help of Esther sought? Give the two 
demands of Mordecai and Esther’s replies. How 
did Esther dare all to save her people from destruc- 
tion, what about the preparation, the favourable op- 
portunity, the right time? How was the king’s favour 
enlisted by the two banquets? What took place in 
the interval between the banquets? What can be said 
of the character of Esther? What can be said of the 
end of the book? 


vO 0 bi, 
WOMAN OF SOLOMON’S SONG 


THE SINGLE STANDARD 


The Shulamite, of The Song of Solomon, repre- 
sents a woman faithful to her pledged love amid the 
seductive temptations of an oriental court. 

It is along the same line as the Book of Job where 
the hero stands true to his convictions when every 
sort of trial, physical, mental and spiritual, is 
brought to bear against him. 

The Status of Women, in any age, is always an 
interesting topic. In the time when this poem was 
written, it was considered quite the proper thing for 
a king to have a harem, in which were sequestered 
many wives. This was also the rule for his officials. 
In fact, any man in the kingdom was allowed all the 
wives he was able to support. 

The Watchers for beautiful women for the 
king’s harem were everywhere. These women, 
married or unmarried, when deemed worthy by their 
personal charms were brought to the king. If any 
one pleased the king she became a member of his 
household. Little or no attention was paid to her 
former affiliations. 

This Country Maiden, in the north, attracted 
the attention of the king’s watchers. She is obliged 
to come to Jerusalem against her protest. The king 
is pleased with her, when she is brought before him. 
He is so much pleased with her that he does not seem 
to wish to actually force her to enter his harem. On 


the other hand he seeks to woo her by placing every 
90 | 


Woman of Solomon’s Song 91 


possible inducement before her of the desirability of 
court life. It is this wooing, and the refusal of the 
Shulamite to be won on account of her pledged love 
to a man, in her home town—-one for one—which 
constitutes the whole action of the book. She does 
not wish, even with all the inducements the king‘ can 
offer, to become one of his many wives. 

Marriage and Divorce were not under discus- 
sion then, as they are to-day, simply because they 
were so easy to accomplish. When a man got tired 
of his wife or wives of his youth, he got new ones 
in one way or another. 

All marriages were “ Trial Marriages ” in which wo- 
men got the worst of it as they do now in such cases. 

The natural result of this practice was the deaden- 
ing of all the finer feelings of men and women for 
each other. Men, and women degenerated, stepped 
down, and became beast-like in their loves and hates. 

Family life was destroyed. National life decayed. 
It is no wonder that the kingdom was rent asunder 
when Solomon died. Of the resultant moral down- 
fall the prophets have much to say. It is all written 
large in the old records, not only of the Israelites 
but of the surrounding nations from which they 
copied the exceedingly loose relations between men 
and women. It is the same story everywhere with 
the same results, in those times, of decay and degen- 
eracy of men, women, society and peoples. — 

It is surprising that to-day, efforts are being so 
persistently made to turn us back to the old evil 
practices. The desirability of the marriage relation 
of one for one, is attacked. Divorce laws are sought 
to be made easy. Whenever and wherever these 


92 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


things are even partially accomplished the old degen- 
eracy returns, and the human race decays, as of old. 

What Solomon’s Song is Not.—It is not simply 
an oriental love song, full of great beauty and charm. 
On the surface it is exquisite. The movement is 
light and graceful. The references to pastoral 
scenes are very frequent. Doves hide in the cleft of 
the rocks. Gazelles are leaping on the mountains. 
There are trees with varied foliage and flowers with 
bright hues and rich perfume. We seem to walk in 
vineyards and amidst fig trees, in the balmy air of 
spring. But if this book was only and solely a 
beautiful poem it would never have found a place 
in the canon of Scripture. 

What the Woman, in the Song, Stands For.— 
No one can read this poem without feeling the deep 
undercurrent of feeling that only flows in one direc- 
tion. What is that direction? What does the Shul- 
amite want? 

She is in Favour of “ The Pair Marriage.” She 
wants to be returned to her northern home and to her 
affanced husband. This is the burden of her every 
utterance. No matter how much below the king he 
is, she can love no one else. All the riches and all the 
greatness of the gorgeous court life cannot win her 
away, however beautifully they may be displayed. 

She does not want to share her love with another 
man any more than she wants her affianced husband 
to share his love with another woman. 

Here is a Protest against polygamy, written at a 
time when this was the almost universal practice. 
We begin to see now why this song has a place in 
the Bible. This protest speaks for all time against 


Woman of Solomon’s Song 93 


anything but “The Pair Marriage.” Hence, here 
we have no reference to “ The Mosaic Law” or the 
peculiar institutions of Judaism. 

Here are shining the purity and constancy of a 
woman’s love. Here is an example, an ideal, for all 
time, of the religion of true love between a man and 
a woman, which makes possible the flourishing of the 
virtues of a worth-while family life and the building 
up of a people into a truly great nation. 

Here 1s a Voice in the midst of a corrupt age, lifted 
up for purity of life and a return to the right rela- 
tions, ordained of God, between men and women. 
It is against the lower ideals of free love and loose 
practices, in marriage and divorce, which ought to 
be forever cast out from human society. 

There Are Three Attempts of the King to Win 
the Shulamite, for his harem, and away from the 
man to whom she is betrothed. They are plainly set 
forth in the poem. They have been classified as 
follows: 

First Attempt. After the introduction—1 : 1—the 
court ladies engage the Shulamite—1: 2-8. A chorus 
of virgins praise the king—1:2-4. The Shulamite 
expresses her opinion of herself and her longing for 
her Northern home—1:5-7. The chorus answers— 
133; 

Solomon now enters as a suitor. He says—1:9-17 
—‘T have compared thee, O my love, to a company 
of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. Thy cheeks are 
comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of 
gold. We will make thee borders of gold studded 
with silver.” . . . “ Behold thou art fair, my love, 
behold thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes,’ etc. 


94 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


First Repulse. But the mind of the maiden is 
far away. She seems not to pay heed to the king’s 
flatteries. She has no use for him. She hears an- 
other voice calling her, that of her afhanced husband. 
She says—2:8-10—* The voice of my _ beloved! 
Behold he cometh, leaping upon the mountains and 
skipping on the hills.” . . . “My beloved spake 
and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, 
and come away.” ead the whole second chapter in 
this connection. In the latter part of this chapter 
she seems to recall scenes from her past life when she 
was happy in her northern home. 

In chapter 3:1-5, she has a dream in which she 
seems to go in search of the beloved one of her 
Northern home. 

Second Attempt. Solomon is seen approaching in 
royal state. His greatness and glory are shown the 
Shulamite—3:6-11. He praises her beauty in the 
most exquisite terms of endearment—4: 1-7. 

Second Repulse. - The flatteries of the king bring 
no response. The Shulamite’s thoughts are far away, 
as they were before. She is not at all impressed by 
the greatness and glory of the king. His riches are 
as nothing to her compared to her faithful love. 
After all, she knows that the king has probably ut- 
tered these flatteries many times before under the 
same circumstances, and that she, if she yields, will 
only be a passing fancy. Shortly she will be com- 
pelled to give place to a newer beautiful face which 
is the case with all free lovers and loose observers 
of marriage vows. It may be also that she has some 
friend in the north, who has been invited in by the 
front door of the harem, and cast out at the back as 


Woman of Solomon’s Song 95 


“Useless Baggage.” In her reply The Shulamite 
expresses her longing for and belief in her “ Beloved 
One ”—4:8-5:1. Again she dreams that she seeks 
him in vain throughout the city—5: 2-8. 

Third Attempt. ‘The ladies of the king’s court, or 
harem, now again take a hand in the matter. 

They say in substance, “ Why should you set your- 
self above your fellows?” “Why go beyond the 
standards of your time?” “Why be prudish?” 
“Do as others do.” ‘Do you not know that many 
women consider it an honour to be invited into the 
king’s harem?”’ Here is what they say, in the exact 
words of the text—‘ What is thy beloved more than 
another beloved, O thou fairest among women? 
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, that 
thou dost so charge us?”—5:9. It is the same sort 
of argument that we hear to-day from the advocates 
of what they call “Free Marriage and Divorce.” 
The Shulamite’s answer of faithful love is given in 
chapter 5:10-6:3. She would impress upon the 
ladies of the court her love and faithfulness to one 
and not to many. 

Solomon seconds the effort of his harem women 
in renewed flatteries—‘“ Thou art beautiful, O my 
love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an 
army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me 
for they have overcome me,” etc.—6: 4-7: 9. 

It is the same old story to-day, of the man of many 
loves to win a new one. But what can this king offer 
The Shulamite? He confesses to having ‘“ Three- 
score queens and fourscore concubines and virgins 
without number ’—6:8. His is a jaded and worn- 
out love stimulated, it may be now, by this woman’s 


96 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


pretty face and her refusal to enter his harem. 

The Third Repulse. This is the final one. This 
maiden, of the long ago, shows she has read this age- 
old “ Man of the World” who is still with us setting 
his snares to catch the unwary ones. 

The Triumph of the Shulamite is complete 
—/:10-8:14. Note her confidence. She says—“I 
am my beloved’s and his desire is towards me.” 
“Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let 
us lodge in the villages’”’-—7: 10-11. To be with the 
“One” she loves.in the fields and villages, in the 
humble walks of life, is more than to be lodged in 
the palace of the king, one amongst many or one in a 
procession. 

A Final Strong Tribute to a Faithful Love is given 
in chapter 8:6, 7. ‘‘ Set me a seal upon thine heart, 
as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death: 
jealousy as cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are 
coals of fire which hath a most vehement flame. Many 
waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown 
it: if a man would give all the substance of his house 
for love, it would utterly be contemned.” 

Questions.—What does the Shulamite repre- 
sent? What can be said of the status of women? 
What can be said of the watchers for women? What 
can be said of the country maiden from the north? 
What can be said of marriage and divorce in the 
olden days? What Solomon’s Song is not. What 
does the woman, in the song, stand for? What about 
the favour, the protest, the voice? Give an account 
of the three attempts of the king to win the Shul- 
amite and his three repulses. ‘What of the triumph 
of the Shulamite? 


XIII 
MOTHER OF JESUS 
BEST AND BEST KNOWN 


Mary, The Mother of Jesus, is better known 
_than any other woman in the Bible. She is the best 
_ known woman in the world of to-day. She is in the 
| ‘white light of a pitiless and persistent publicity. ‘Her > 
every act, word and attitude, has been and is most 
“carefully scrutinized. It was said to her—‘* Blessed 
art thou among women ’’—Luke 1:28. After many 
centuries have passed that statement still stands 
unquestioned. 

She Had No Easy Life. At first the glorious 
prophecies concerning the career of her son raised 
her expectations to the highest point. These must 
have been dimmed in the long monotonous years of 
waiting, in the home life in Nazareth, when her son 
became a village carpenter. What disappointment, 
even if unrecorded, must have been hers! 

After thirty years of waiting, her Son became the 
most famous man in all Palestine. Multitudes fol- 
lowed Him everywhere. He charmed people by His 
gracious words. He did many marvelous things. 
He was proclaimed as “ The Son of God ” and “ The 
Son of Man.” But the sky of His splendid career 
darkens. He is arrested and tried for His life. He 
is condemned to be crucified. His mother’s heart is 
torn asunder with horror and grief... How can she 
“survive this awful calamity ? 

97 


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The sky brightens. “ The Resurrection Day ”’ dawns, 
her Son rises from the dead, and she ascends to the 
heights of joy. For some of the Scripture references 
read—Matthew 1:18-2:23; Luke first and second 
chapters; John second chapter; Matthew 12: 46-50; 
John 19: 25-27; Acts 1: 14. 

How Judged?—By what standard, or stand- 
ards, can we make a true estimate of the life, conduct, 
and character of Mary? 

Some Common Methods of Judging Women are 
by— 

Beauty of face and form. Hence the efforts made 
to be attractive. 

Dress. Hence the great desire for outward adorn- 
ment. 

Occupation.. Hence the rush for the better places. 

Social position and wealth. Hence the eagerness 
to excell. ; 

Cleverness. The woman with brains goes far. 
Hence the multitude of colleges. 

Character, the salt, without which the others lose 
their flavor. 

We get many and varied results in judging by the 
above, singly or in combinations. 

Still other Ways must be sought, to get at the ex- 
cellencies of Mary. Nothing is said of her beauty 
in the Scriptures, although the most eminent artists 
have vied with each other in painting what they 
imagined the beauty of her face to be like, in their 
“Madonnas.” We find no word set down about 
her outward adornment. We know that she was poor 
and had no high social standing. No one doubts her 
“strong character. 


Mother of Jesus 99 


She was, according to the record, a humble village _ 
woman, living in a small town. This little place was 
so insignificant as to lead a great man to say—‘ Can 
any good thing come out of Nazareth? ”—John 1: 46. 
Yet, in the Bible and outside, she has been given the 
highest place among women. 

She Excelled in the Qualities which are most 
needed everywhere. When adopted, and practised, 
they exalt and make glorious any woman, in any walk 
of life. They are not dependent upon, but independ- 
ent of, and go with or without beauty, dress, social 
rank, wealth and cleverness. We consider some of 
these qualities, which like the rays of the sun, gild 
all those upon whom they shine, with a golden light. 

The Quality of Her Pre-Eminent Faith, which 
comprehended what was being said to her and took 
it at its true valtie. She was not credulous. She 
asked intelligent questions ta the angel as to what 
he meant by the statement that she. would be the 
“Mother of Jesus’”—Luke 1:28-45. Here is a 
highly intelligent mind seeking to know the exact 
status of things. When convinced of the genuineness 
of the message, she accepted, with great faith, all that 
the angel implied in it. Some of the things the angel 
set forth are yet to be fulfilled, such as— Of His 
kingdom there shall be no end ”—Luke 1: 33. 

It was a tremendous feat of her faith, as we look 
back upon it now, and see all that has come to pass, 
to see things as Gabriel saw them and wanted Mary 
to see them. In the like manner we are called upon 
to have faith that God can and will take care of the 
future, our future as well as the future of the world. 
Life is really worth the living when this sort of faith 


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is attained. Without it, life is cast into—‘‘ The shal- 
lows and quicksands.” 

The Quality of Her Joy and Gladness.—In 
Mary we find no grim determination to do and dare 
for her faith. It is ona higher level. She does what 
she does because she is wonderfully pleased to do it. 
Listen to what she says in her song of rejoicing, in 
“The Magnificat”: “ My soul doth magnify the Lord 
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour. 
For he hath regarded the low estate of his hand- 
maiden: for behold from henceforth all generations 
shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath 
done to me great things; and holy is his name. . . . 
He hath put down the mighty from their seats and 
exalted them of low degree, etc.’”—Luke 1 :46-55. 
She shows here poetic and prophetic genius of the 
highest order. Notice the “all generations shall 
call me blessed ;” not alone Jew, Roman, Greek, but 
“All.” Thus, at the very beginning, she foretells 
the world-wide scope of the message of “The 
Christ.” 

Suppose, just suppose, that every child should be 
given the glad welcome into this world that Mary 
gave to Jesus! It is to the rejoicing element and 
quality, that we desire to call attention. It gives 
wings to her faith which lift her above being per- 
plexed by the sordid things of earth. It is the quality 
that is needed in our faith to-day. 

The Quality of Her Far-Seeing Vision.—She 
had the Tong look into the future/ She saw things 
not as they are, confused and jumbled and hard to 
understand, but as they are to be, Often things must 
seem to be jumbled and confused before the more 


Mother of Jesus 101 


perfect order comes to pass. The contractor, in 
building a great, tall; many storied structure, must 
often first tear down a number of smaller buildings 
and blast out a deep rock foundation. To one look- 
ing on, the tearing down and blasting out processes 
seem only destructive; but every step to the builder, 
who has the plan in mind, is one of construction. 
He sees what is to be, not what is.(. Mary saw the 
plan for the bettering of the world. She saw her 
_.part in it, as every woman has a part, and was satis- 
fied to work to that end.) 

Every life coming into this world is a new pos- 
sibility for good or evil. We know this by seeing 
what the lives that have come and gone have ac- 
complished. No place so small, no city so large, but 
what this is being continually demonstrated. Mary, 
looking far into the future, by what she has been told, 
will be the instrument used to set up a life whose in-~ 
fluence for good will never be exhausted. There is 
nothing so heartening as this “ Vision of the Future.” 

The Quality of Keeping Her Ideals Unsullied 
and holding steadily on her way. There are many 
things that would tend to dim the ideals of Mary. 
Keeping house with the scanty means and few con- 
veniences that she had was not very nourishing to 
great thoughts. Doing the same things, day after 
day, and with no change, as the dreary years went 
by would naturally sully the best ideals. 

Monotony is the. worst foe of the higher things of 
life. Then too, contact, daily contact, with any one, 
however great, is apt to be disillusioning, not because 
there is not true greatness to be considered but be- 
cause of our own lowering of our estimations. 


102 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


But wherever and whenever the curtain lifts and 
we get a view of Mary she has the very same spirit 
that she had when she composed her song of re- 
joicing— The Magnificat.” 

The Quality of Conquering Her Perplexities 
and Anxieties—They must have been many con- 
sidering what she had been called upon to believe. 
Jesus, as a baby, must have had the usual sicknesses. 
As a boy he must have had the usual boy troubles. 
As a young man, going out as a carpenter, day after 
day, to help build houses or do odd jobs, she must 
have been often asking herself the question—“ Is 
this really the Messiah?” “Can this be ‘ The One’ 
who is to bless the whole world, ‘The One’ whom 
I see at the table every day and who goes to his work 
every morning?” 

If she had perplexities, she kept them to herself, 
so far as we know. She was not of that number who 
continually bombard you with their troubles and 
make life a burden. Mary must have been a fine 
hostess when people came visiting, for she seems to 
have had so many cheering things to say. 

The Quality of Her Humility—-Mary seems 
mindful that she is a humble village maiden. She 
says— For he hath regarded the low estate of his 
handmaiden’’—Luke 1:48. She never seems to 
claim anything for herself. It is all for her Son. It 
is one of the remarkable, and also one of the sad 
things in the history of Christendom, that she has 
been selected as one of the objects of worship by a 
certain church and that prayers should be offered up 
to her and incense waved before her. She would be 
one of the first to repudiate this sort of thing could 


Mother of Jesus 103 


she come to earth again. Nowhere in the New 
Testament can be found any such claim for Mary by 
herself or others for her. Everywhere that she is 
mentioned, in any way, we see her humility. 

The Quality of Her Reverence.—Her worship 
is for her Son. At the very beginning she said— 
“My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit 
hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour ”—Luke 1:46, 47. 
In this belief she never seems to have wavered. It 
is something to be said, and it cannot be too strongly 
emphasized, that ‘“ The Manhood of the Master ” 
never shone forth more clearly than it did in the nar- 
row and confined quarters of that small house in 
Nazareth. 

The Quality of Her Faithfulness at the 
Cross.—The last few days of Christ’s life on earth 
must have been heartbreaking ones for his mother. 
She had come down from her home town expecting? 
Who knows what she expected? She remembered 
what high hopes she had when he was born, what the 
angel had said to her, the visit of “ The Wise Men” 
and of “ The Shepherds.”’ Now would her Son re- 
veal himself for what He was? Would He be pro- 
claimed as The Messiah? 

When on Palm Sunday she heard the multitudes 
shouting ‘‘ Hosannas”’ in His name and looking to 
Him as the “One” who was to redeem Israel, what 
would come to pass? Everything seemed possible. 
All her visions seemed to be coming true. 

But the scene rapidly changes. He is arrested. He 
is taken for trial before the hostile high priests. He 
is condemned by Pilate. He must suffer death on the 
cross. Everything that has been worth while is 


104 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


broken and shattered. The earthquake has come. It 
is the end. Behold, the unhappy mother! But if she 
is unhappy no one knows it. All honour to her. She 
has not lost her faith and is faithful. The curtain 
lifts and we see Mary at the cross, close to it, that her 
Son may see her. She will give Him all the aid and 
comfort that she can. Her Son sees her and com- 
mends her to John, who takes her to his own home— 
John 19:25-27, 

The Last View of Christ’s Mother (Acts 
1: 12-14—is at the first meeting of a few of the dis- 
ciples after the resurrection and ascension. All is 
changed. Everything is cleared up. Jesus has come 
to life again. The new hope is borne in upon the 
world. The believing faithful mother is right at the 
beginning of things, in the new beginning, as she was 
at the first. Everything that the angel Gabriel told 
Mary, at first, has been fulfilled, except the things of 
the far-future. 

She is the First Among Women.—In the Bible 
there is no name which stands before hers. In Chris- 
tian lands her name is the first. Outside Christian 
countries she is known, wherever Jesus Christ is 
known, as the “ Mother of Our Lord,” the best known 
of all mothers. 

Why Does She Take Such a High Position ?— 
Because of her mother-relation to Jesus Christ? 
Yes, and more, because she gave herself up to be 
possessed of a great faith and high ideals. She placed 
her life in their keeping and they have carried her 
far, through her Saviour and Son, in whom she 
trusted implicitly. 

Questions——What can be said of Mary, the 


Mother of Jesus 105 


mother of Jesus? Did she have an easy life? How 
judged? What are common methods of judging 
women? What ways ought to be applied to Mary? 
How and why is she the best and best known woman? 
What can be said of her pre-eminent faith; her joy 
and gladness; her far-seeing vision? How did she 
keep her ideals unsullied and how did she conquer 
her perplexities? What can be said of her humility; 
her reverence for her Son? What can be said of her 
faithfulness at the cross? What is the last view of 
Christ’s mother? Why is she first among women? 
Why does she take such a high position? 


XIV 
WIFE OF PETER 


A HIDDEN WOMAN 


Did Peter Have a Wife?—The common suppo- 
sition is that he did not. But this supposition is con- 
trary to fact. In proof that he did have a wife, we 
turn to two passages of Scripture— 

First—Matthew 8:14. We here find an account 
of Jesus coming to the city of Capernaum—Matthew 
8: 1-15—and while there he came to Peter’s house— 
“And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he 
saw his wife’s mother laid and sick of a fever and he 
touched her hand and the fever left her.” If Peter 
had a mother-in-law he must have had a wife. 

Second—I Corinthians 9:5. It is quite evident 
that his wife accompanied him when he went on his 
missionary journeys. She might have helped him in 
many ways, personally, and in seeing the carefully 
secluded women of the east and giving them the 
Gospel message. Speaking of this practice, of the 
wives of the early missionaries going with them, 
Paul says—‘ Have we not power to lead about a 
sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the 
brethren of the Lord and Cephas (Peter) ?” 

Why is Not More Said About Peter’s Wife?— 
That we do not know. The same question might be 
asked about the wives of many men who figure promi- 


nently, inside and outside the Bible. We know that 
106 


Wife of Peter 107 


they had homes and families but no details are given. 

A Hidden Woman.—Peter’s wife belonged in 
the class of what are known as “ The Hidden 
Women.” Their number is very large. It was very 
much larger in the time when the New Testament 
was written than it is to-day. They are not hidden 
in the sense that they are shut up somewhere or con- 
cealed so that people may not see them or that they are, 
in any way, deprived of their liberty. They may be 
very much in evidence and yet be hidden in the sense 
that they are practically unknown beyond their own 
households and a very limited circle of friends and 
acquaintances. These women may be very gifted, 
in many ways, have fine personalities, and exceed- 
ingly efficient, but with no opportunity to express 
themselves. They are “ The Real Shut Ins.” 

Hidden Behind a MHusband’s Reputation.— 
Peter‘s work bulks large in the New Testament. 
He is one of the most prominent figures. He is the 
chief of the Apostles in The Gospels. He takes first 
place in The Acts for the first twelve chapters. 

His place is not usurped. He comes rightly by it. 
He is energetic, enthusiastic, full of faith in his 
Master, Jesus Christ, and willing to do and to dare 
for Him. Although married, he is looked upon as 
the first pope, but that there was any pope at that 
time is denied. He was very prominent in the affairs 
of the early Christian churches. 

What chance was there for his wife to be known 
under the shadow of such a great reputation? Not 
very much. Still if we speculate a little. She cer- 
tainly must have been a discreet woman, for she did 
nothing to injure his fame. She might have done very 


108 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


much in helping him gain and hold what he had. We 
know that naturally Peter was an impulsive man and 
who knows how often Peter might have come home, 
ready to give things up, and had his wife caution him 
to go slowly and think before he acted as many a good 
wife has done with that kind of a husband. 

In his missionary tours she must have been of no 
small assistance, for otherwise he could not have 
taken her. There were at that time no great Foreign 
Missionary Societies, with funds, to send out labour- 
ers into needy fields and everyone who went on 
tours of this sort had to look out for himself. 

Hidden Behind Household Cares.—The keep- 
ing of a house in order and the getting of meals regu- 
larly, and on time, are no easy matters. They, by 
their regularity and monotony, often become very 
irksome. It is a round and round sort of business 
which cannot be shirked for the welfare of the mem- 
bers of the home depend upon its being well done. 

Sickness lays extra burdens upon willing hands. 
In all probability Peter’s wife had her hands full with 
her household duties and when her mother was taken 
sick with a fever, while eager to do all she could, she 
might have been much overburdened. 

Therefore when Jesus Christ unexpectedly came 
to her home and healed her mother, she was very 
grateful and very much relieved. Her mother, when 
cured of her fever, arose and helped with the getting 
the house in order again; for in sickness, much house- 
work has to be neglected and only the necessary things 
done. 

Peter’s wife would, doubtless, have been very glad 
to have gone out of the house with her husband, down 


Wife of Peter 109 


by the seaside, and to have listened to what “ The 
Wonderful Christ ” was saying and to have seen Him 
open the eyes of the blind, cause the lame to walk, 
and heal all manner of diseases. But she must attend 
to her household and be hidden behind its duties so 
that when its members came home all things might 
be in readiness for them. 

All honour to the women, standing like Peter’s wife 
by their homes, subordinating their desires and their 
pleasures to keeping things up, where they need to be 
kept up, and doing an exceedingly important work. 

Hidden Behind the Children of the Home.—We 
find no mention or hint of any children in the Caper- 
naum household. While there might have been chil- 
dren, we have no right to speculate. But where there 
are children, in the home, it is the wife and mother 
who has to bear the chief burden of their daily care 
and upbringing. 

She it is who subordinates herself to them. Often, 
too often, she not only is hidden behind what they 
want to do, and propose to do, but forgotten. Burdens 
are placed upon her shoulders which she is ill able 
to bear. If it is a question of going without, it is not 
the children, but mother. It is mother who bears the 
heat and burden of the day when the children go to 
school. She must be behind the meals to get them 
strictly on time. When it is college, for the boy or 
girl, it is mother who gives up this and that, in order 
that the coveted diploma may be had. 

It is time that we brought mother out and let her 
have some of the good times to which she is entitled. 

There are extravagant, lazy, gay, good-for-nothing 
types of women, as there are of men. We are not 


110 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


writing of them in this connection. We are only say- 
ing some words, which cannot be said too often, for 
the women who subordinate themselves to their 
households and get no recognition for it. 

Women Hidden Behind the Modern Business 
Men.—Now we leave the first century and come 
to the twentieth. Is everything changed and differ- 
ent? We try to make ourselves believe that it is. But 
we find here, as late as it is, that “ The Hidden 
Woman ”’ is still with us—behind her husband’s repu- 
tation, household cares and children. 

Now we have a new class to deal with in addition 
to wives and mothers. It is the class of young women 
secretaries, teachers, stenographers, clerks and others, 
who are out in the modern business world and who 
are taking upon themselves its cares and putting them- 
selves under its burdens. 

Just here new forces are at work and new intel- 
ligencies are solving age old problems. Work is be- 
ing arranged so that all of it cannot be piled upon one 
willing pair of shoulders in any certain work. 
Churches, women’s societies and clubs are agitating 
on every hand, a new order of things in the woman’s 
world, in giving woman a fair chance. 

The Conclusion of the Whole Matter.—That 
is the old matter like the closing up one volume to 
open another. The agitation for a fair deal for 
women was begun in the teaching of the New Testa- 
ment. It has been in agitation ever since. 

The ideal of the Greek and the Roman was the 
slave one for women; the plaything and the chattel 
of man. She must bear, uncomplainingly, all the 
burdens placed upon her. It has been hard to kill 


Wife of Peter 111 


that ideal. Notice how Peter, himself, advancing, 
writes of this question in his First Epistle 3: 1-12. 
He begins with the old idea. 

First, of subjection of the wife to the husband, 
an 

Second, of giving honour unto the wife, as the 
weaker vessel, 3: 7. 

Third, of the equality of the wife with the husband, 
“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion 
one for another . . . not rendering evil for evil, or 
railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing: know- 
ing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should in- 
herit a blessing—3:8, 9. Or we can go back beyond 
the New Testament to the Old Testament where, in 
Genesis 2:18, 23, 24, woman is shown as man’s equal, 
companion and helpmeet. 

The Last Word in a Right Way of Looking at 
Things.—When we come to understand and exalt 
the Biblical teachings of the proper relations of hus- 
band to wife and of men and women, in general, to 
each other we may find it our glory to put ourselves 
under burdens and to be hidden in our work that that 
work may be exalted, even as Jesus Christ humbled 
himself to carry the burden of the world. It is cer- 
tainly a fact that the person who continually puts 
himself or herself forward and calls attention to what 
is being done becomes, in time, rather of a nuisance. 

It is one thing to have a burden thrust upon us, 
that we do not want. It is quite another thing to take 
up and carry a burden, even if it is twice as heavy, 
but which is self-imposed. Many a woman, and many 
a man, is willing to be put in an obscure place and 


112 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


loaded down with work if it is felt that thereby good 
is being accomplished. 

It may be that the wife of Peter wanted to be hid- 
den in order that the great cause in which she believed 
might be advanced. 

Questions.—Did Peter have a wife? Give the 
Scripture proofs. Why is not more said about Peter’s 
wife? What can be said about Peter’s wife as a 
hidden woman? What can be said of being hidden 
behind a husband’s reputation; household cares; the 
children in the home; the modern business man? 
What is the conclusion of the whole matter? What 
is the last word in a right way of looking at things? 


XV 
A WOMAN OF SAMARIA 


A KEEN QUESTIONER 


The Questioner?—A Woman of Samaria (John 
4:4-42), who talked with Jesus, near her home town, 
by a well where she had gone to draw water. 

Her wits had been sharpened by some bitter ex- 
periences with an unfriendly world. Her tongue was 
facile in asking about things which she knew per- 
fectly well would provoke controversy. She seemed 
to delight in touching sore spots with no gentle hand. 
As she had been badly treated by life, she would take 
it out on others. None too good; her matrimonial 
experiences, with five husbands, had evidently soured 
a naturally cheerful disposition. 

But with all her handicaps, her mind seemingly un- 
affected, brooded over the great questions of God, 
life and destiny, although she sullenly revolted at the 
bad conditions in which she found herself. 

When, therefore, she saw a stranger, Jesus, by the 
well, she was all ready to begin a wordy battle and 
to match her wits against His. 

The signal to start the verbal contest was given 
when Jesus asks for a drink of water. Instead of 
giving it to Him, seeing that he is a Jew, she says— 
“ How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of 
me which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews 
have no dealings with the Samaritans.” This is the 
first one about race, of the four great controversial 
questions which she raises. 


The Answerer, Jesus Christ, is entirely differ- 
113 


114 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


ent from any one whom she has encountered. He 
is not provoked into bitter retorts to which she has 
become accustomed. He replies, directly and in- 
directly, to her attacking questions, in such a way, 
that she is astounded. No one has answered her in 
like fashion. Here are real replies to questions which 
she had thought unanswerable. She is so satisfied 
that she has not the heart to continue. She is told that 
much of her trouble comes from the tumult and un- 
rest in her own heart. 

Finally she is so amazed by the wonder of it all 
that she forgets what she has come to the well for 
and starts back to her little city without her water 
pot. There she goes up and down the streets urging 
the people to come and see the wonderful man who 
has told her so much and so well. A marvelous 
change of front for this worldly wise cynical woman! 

The Four Great Questions, brought up by the 
Samaritan woman, are still with us, in one form or 
another. They deal with the very foundations of 
things. They have not been settled because the world 
has not yet been brought to the “ Christ Basis” of 
settlement. We are still in the “ Woman of Samaria 
Stage of Things,” questioning for the sake of ques- 
tioning, with no real desire to apply the right rem- 
edies, even when known. Let us consider these ques- 
tions separately: 

1—What Keeps Races Apart?—“ The Jews 
have no dealings with the Samaritans,” declared the 
Samaritan Woman. Why not? Physically they are 
made the same. They require the same food. They 
labour at the same tasks. They have like hopes and 
ambitions. They have the same sort of mental out- 


Woman of Samaria 115 


fits. They have a like length of years. They suffer 
from the same diseases. They thrive alike under 
good governments and go down under bad. What 
was true of the Jews and Samaritans in the olden 
time is true of races and peoples to-day. 

There is no law. which sets apart certain sections 
of our big and little cities for Russians, Poles, 
Italians, Jews, and other nationalities. The races 
segregate themselves. They do not wish to mingle. 
This is one of the great arguments for those, at the 
present day, who oppose unrestricted immigration 
into our country in that the people, who come, pro- 
pose to retain their own national customs and habits. 

What is the Real Trouble? First, the accentua- 
tion of race differences. America for Americans. 
England for Englishmen. France for Frenchmen 
and so on. The Jews and Samaritans cultivated and 
made much of their own customs and manners and 
worship. 

Second, the keeping, at the front, race dislike, prej- 
udice and hatred; especially the hatred. It is the 
latter which principally kept Jews and Samaritans 
apart. It is this that still keeps races apart. It splits 
up families. It spoils friendships. It causes wars 
to begin and go on to bitter and disastrous ends. 
When race hatred ceases, no war will be possible. 

The Solution and Answer which Christ Proposed, 
to the Woman of Samaria, still stands as the way 
out of the difficulty. “If thou knewest the gift of 
God and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, 
thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have 
given thee living water.” He is referring here to his 
words of peace and good will which, if accepted, 


116 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


would bring to an end the hatreds, jealousies and prej- 
udices of nations, races and peoples. 

Christ was ever talking, not about a “ New King- 
dom of The Jews” triumphant over all, but a “ King- 
dom of God, of Righteousness, and Peace.” It was 
not a restricted but a universal one. He is the first 
advocate of ‘‘ The World State.” 

2—Where is the Proper Place of Worship?— 
Man has been called a “ Religious Animal.” Wipe 
out religion to-day and it will be back to-morrow. 
Man ever seeks a place to express himself in devo- 
tional acts. Where is the proper place? The Jews 
had a place. The Samaritans had a place. Which 
was the right one? The Samaritan Woman said— 
“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye 
say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought 
to worship.” This had been the subject of long- 
drawn out controversies. The religions of the world 
are even now divided on this subject of proper places 
of worship, and the forms to be observed. Which is 
right? has been, is now, the cause of bitter feelings. 

Here is a fine chance for debate. Shrewd kings 
and rulers of men, knowing the force of the religious 
motive, have ever accentuated the desirability of a 
purely national religion and places of worship. The 
old kings of Israel understood this when the division 
came, after the rule of King Solomon. In our cities 
and towns it still causes divisions and dissensions, 
as to which is the right creed to believe and ritual to 
be observed. 

The Way Out of this Difficulty was plainly shown 
by Jesus Christ. He did not enter into the contro- 
versy as to which was the right temple of worship. 


Woman of Samaria 117 


Notice His reply—“ Woman, believe me, the hour 
cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor 
yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father . . . But the 
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers 
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for 
the Father seeketh such to worship him.” Places and 
times and forms of worship will be no longer in con- 
troversy when this simple Christ solution of the 
matter is accepted. Anywhere, and at any time, man 
can turn to the worship of the Father. 

3—Who is the Right Object of Worship?—It 
would seem as if some question of the Samaritan 
Woman had been dropped out, between verses 23 
and 24 and that it had something to do with, “ Who 
would be worshipped?”’ With the idolatrous wor- 
ship that was all around and the numerous idols such 
a question would have been perfectly in order. 

The importance of this question of “ Who is God?” 
and his relation to man, cannot be overestimated. 
For according to the answers given, men have loved 
or hated each other. They have lived good, true, up- 
right, honest lives or they have steeped themselves in 
evil and, indulging in every bad passion, they have be- 
come like beasts of the field. They have built up or 
torn down society and the state. They have culti- 
vated every grace and lived in brotherly love or they 
have exalted hatred and offered human sacrifices. 
The difference between races and nations is not so 
much in climate, land, government, as it is in the ideal 
of the religion which is professed. 

The Greatness of the Reply of Jesus to the implied 
question as to “ Who is God?” and “ Who is the 
right object of worship?” has never been surpassed, 


118 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


“God is a spirit and they that worship him must 
worship him in spirit and in truth.’ He is a Per- 
sonal Spirit. He is in His universe and over it, and 
greater than it; seeing all, ruling all, caring for all. 
He loves and cares for each and every individual. 
Jesus said, in the previous chapter, to Nicodemus,— 
John 3:16—‘ For God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life. For God sent not his Son into the world to con- 
demn the world; but that the world through him 
might be saved.” 

4—Who is the Messiah and When Will He 
Come?—The Samaritans and Jews, both, ex- 
pected the Messiah. Three important questions have 
been asked and fairly and adequately answered. That 
which was begun in the spirit of controversy, by the 
Woman of Samaria, has resulted in the most en- 
lightening religious discussion ever held. 

All the principles by which nations can be brought 
together, and peoples and races made happy, have 
been set forth. Now remains the question of personal 
leadership with both the Jew and Samaritan conceded 
to the Messiah. 

This was the fourth question of the Samaritan 
Woman, that about the coming of The Messiah. 
“The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias 
cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he 
will tell us all things.” What must have been the 
astonishment of the woman when—Jesus Answered 
“T that speak unto thee am he.” Here is a direct dec- 
laration of what Christ is by Himself. What could 
be more clear and plain than this? 


Woman of Samaria 119 


The Questions are Ended.—Action begins. 

The spirit of the woman is changed. Her whole 
outlook on life is different. You can feel, in reading 
the narrative, that someway and somehow, her 
gloom and depression have departed. The old cynical — 
attitude is gone. She is alive and active with new and 
great purposes. She is so filled with enthusiasm for 
The Messiah, whom she has found, that she wants to 
tell every one. She starts, at once, back home, for- 
getting her water pot, to tell all her neighbours. 

Her neighbours, seeing the changes wrought in this 
woman, flock out to see The Christ. They are con- 
vinced as the woman was. They invite Him to be 
their guest, which He is for two days. Many put 
their faith in him. 

When Christ departs from the city, the people tell 
the Samaritan Woman—‘‘ Now we believe not be- 
cause of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, 
and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour 
of the world.” 

Questions.—What can be said of the ques- 
tioner, the woman of Samaria? What can be said of 
the answerer, Jesus Christ; how did He reply? 
What can be said of the four great questions brought 
up by the woman? 1—What keeps races apart ; what 
is the reply of Jesus? 2—Where is the proper place 
of worship; what is the way out of this difficulty? 
3—Who is the right object of worship? What can 
be said about the greatness of the reply of Jesus? 
4__Who is the Messiah and when will he come? 
What was the reply of Jesus? What can be said 
about the ending of the questions? What about the 
change wrought in the woman of Samaria? What 
did the people of the city do and say about the Christ ? 


XVI 
MARTHA AND MARY 
A TASK AND A VISION 


In Martha’s House.—The incident related, in 
Luke 10: 38-42, in the life of the famous New Tes- 
tament sisters, took place, in their home, in the village 
of Bethany. 

It is stated that the house belonged to Martha. 
Houses differ as much as the people who dwell in 
them. Some are well kept and-some are not. But 
we may rest assured that, in this one everything was 
in good order all the time. Nothing was out of place. 

The owner was a painfully neat woman who prided 
herself on her good housekeeping. All the people in 
the village knew her for her excellent qualities, but 
they did not go to her house unless they were dressed 
in accordance with its neatness. Martha worked hard 
to maintain her standard and she wanted everyone 
else to conform to it. 

A Hostess’ Treatment of Her Guest.—The 
situation is an interesting one. 

Martha is the one who invites Jesus into her home. 
Mary comes into the story later on. There is no 
question of faith involved. The sisters believe in 
Christ. There is no doubt but that The Master loved 
to be entertained in this neat and orderly home where 
there was always a warm welcome and good fare. 
Who would not? The point at issue is not the good 


way of keeping house. Doubtless this would have 
120 


Martha and Mary 121 


been praised, as it deserved to be, had the subject 
come up, but it did not. Women like Martha are 
worthy of all commendation. 

The matter to be considered is that the hostess for- 
got herself in the ill treatment of an invited guest. 
What Martha says about her cares and being left 
alone to serve would be enough to make anyone feel 
that his presence was unwelcome. 

The Conditions of Oppression, under which Mar- 
tha felt herself to be, were that she ‘‘ Was cumbered 
with much serving.” The receiving of a guest put 
her out of her daily routine and caused things to be- 
come, to her mind, somewhat disorderly. This irked 
her and she became irritable. We can seem to hear 
the querulous manner in which she speaks. 

A Direct Complaint is made to her guest of the 
burden that His entertainment involves. ‘ Lord, dost 
thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve 
alone?”’ It is as though she had said—‘“You see, 
do you not, how I am striving to entertain you, and 
doing all the work, while you sit there and talk with 
my sister.”’ It does not seem to occur to Martha that 
Mary might have been trying to make Jesus welcome 
also. But this remark of Martha’s seems almost as 
much aimed at Jesus as at her sister. It certainly was 
a rather embarrassing situation to say the least. 

A Request for Interference in a Family Affair. 
It is always a delicate and hazardous thing, even if 
asked, to step between relatives in a matter at which 
they are at odds. To do so, even with the best of in- 
tentions, to settle the matter in dispute, is often to ac- 
quire the enmity of both parties. Martha ought not 
to have asked her guest to correct her sister, as she 


122 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


did in saying, “ Bid her therefore that she help me.” 

The Rebuke of Jesus. We marvel at His self- 
restraint. Many a guest would have felt that he had 
been badly treated at hearing Martha’s outburst. He 
might have said hard things in reply, or He might 
have left the house in indignation. But Jesus takes 
an entirely different way, an unexpected way. He 
recognizes Martha’s overcare for His welfare and 
how, through this very anxiety, she has grown irri- 
table. He sees the excellent qualities of this good 
woman behind her complaints. 

It is a gentle rebuke that He administers, when he 
says—‘ Martha, Martha, thou ‘art careful and 
troubled about many things.” His very tones of 
voice must have soothed her irritability. He knew 
Martha and He was not too warped in His judgment 
by what she said under the stress of strong feelings. 
« The Attitude of Mary. She heard what her sister 
said about her and of what she accused her. She 
might have had much to say in her own defense. We 
would certainly have liked to hear her side of the 
case. She might have caused us to take an entirely 
different view from what is now taken. But she met 
the accusations of her sister in silence. She would 
not quarrel about the matter. Why should she? 
Nothing is to be gained by hurling back counter ac- 
cusations, when unjustly, or what seems unjustly, 
attacked. 

It may have been this “ Attitude of Mary ” which 
led Jesus to say—*‘ But one thing is needful: and 
Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be 
taken away from her.” 

A Reason for Martha’s Action.—In the New 


Martha and Mary 123 


Testament narratives meaning often lies below mean- 
ing. Truth underlies truth. 

According to a popular view of this story, Martha 
was the practical woman, and Mary the visionary one. 
Martha was up and doing and wanted to see things 
go. She seems to have been impatient with anything 
that did not get at immediate results. 

Mary, on the other hand, was contemplative. She 
was visionary. ‘“ She sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his 
word.” 

Martha, evidently, never wanted to see perfectly 
good hours wasted, as she might have called it, in 
just thinking and talking over matters. If anyone 
was not actively engaged in doing something with 
her hands, or going on some good errand, she was 
looked upon as an idler. 

Seeing Life as a Task—The Martha Way.— 
Walking, in this way, is a large class of women. Life 
is a hardship. Life is a drudgery. There is no good 
thing in it. It is work, work, work, day after day. 
The burden of it is felt to press down very hard and, 
as the days go by, to get still harder. This road of 
“A Task” is full of complainers, as it is a difficult 
road to travel. There are few, if any, pleasant views. 
It is a peculiarity that although it is a crowded way, 
every one traveling on it seems to walk it alone. 
There are places so hazardous that they seem im- 
possible to be passed and women have been known to 
throw themselves down to the rocks below, rather 
than to attempt passage. Travelers, on this way, are 
of all classes, rich, poor, wise, ignorant, well and 
poorly dressed. There are those who are conscien- 
tious in doing what they are called upon to do, as 


ard 


124 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


they go along and doing it well, but who see no light 
of hope at the end. There are also the soured and the 
bitter ones. 

It has been suggested, considering all aspects of 
this question, that this—‘‘ Seeing Life as a Hard Road 
to Travel ’’— may be in our attitude of mind toward 
it, rather than in the road itself. Life has tasks and 


Yhard ones. It is not, however, that life is so difficult 


in itself, as it is in the manner in which it is con- 
sidered. A light burden, for which one can see no 
reason at all, becomes a very heavy one; while a very 
heavy burden becomes alight one when it is as- 
sumed because it is wanted and in a good cause. So 
far as can be judged, by the narrative, Martha had 
little occasion to act as she did. Life taken purely 
as “ A Task” is the hardest kind of drudgery. 

Seeing Life as a Vision—The Mary Way.— 
Here again there is the danger of one-sidedness. Life 
is seen as an illusion that is not worth taking seri- 
ously. There is no thought of attempting to take up 
any burden so that the task of life is not felt. Here 
is where some would place Mary and would accuse 
her of only thinking of a visionary contemplation of 
Jesus and His mission. Women in this class of “ Pure 
Visionaries ” never regard anything seriously. They 
do not take to heart household or any other duties. 
They will accept any appointment to do anything 
asked of them, when the vision is strong and clear, 
but when the vision fades, as it too soon does, that 
is an end for them. Yet life without any vision, any 
looking forward and belief in better things to come, 
is dull and drab. 

Linking Up the Task and the Vision of Life.— 


Martha and Mary 125 


A close study of this story of Martha and Mary seems 
to lead to the conclusion that this was the lesson, 
under the surface, that Jesus wanted to teach. 

, A woman with a task and no vision is a drudge. 

} A woman with a vision and no task is a visionary. 

The vision and the task must be combined to get 
the best results. 

“The highest character is the fruit of an ideal 
which is also a living force.” 

The practical woman is needed and also the woman 
with a vision. But better yet, let the practical woman 
take on a vision and the visionary woman take on the 
practical. 

Some popular proverbs are wrong. It is said— 
“That you must not count your chickens before they 
are hatched; but the farmer’s wife who does not 
count —look after the eggs and the setting hens — 
her chickens before they are hatched will have no 
chickens. Again, it is said that—“ You must not 
build castles in the air,’ but the woman who does not 
look ahead and plan what she wants to be and do, will 
never amount to anything. 

The architect sees in vision the great building he 
is going to draw, and to erect, before he touches pen- 
cil to paper to make his plans. Edison saw, as in 
vision, the electric light and then he hunted around 
until he made it practical. It is related of Michael 
Angelo, that he wanted a block of marble at one time, 
to make a statue. He went to the quarries to find it. 
Half way there he saw a big block of marble which 
had been rejected because of angularity and certain 
defects. He had it sent to his studio, against the pro- 
tests of the master of the quarries, who said that it 


126 Studies of Famous Bible Women. 


was no good. But Angelo saw in it, as in a vision, 
the splendid statue of the David, one of the art 
wonders of the world. Here he had vision and task 
combined. 

A Conclusion. When Jesus was on earth He was 
very practical in His teachings of the “ Sermon on 
the Mount” and in His doing of good works, in the 
healing of the sick, but He also gave a great picture, 
in vision, of the future of what He expected His 
kingdom to accomplish. He looked to the far dis- 
tant as well as the near future and spoke of the 
“Kingdom of Heaven” as spreading over the whole 
earth. It may have been that Mary in Martha’s house, 
when she heard Him tell of these large plans and 
visions of the future, was fascinated and carried away 
by them and, the time passing quickly, forgot about 
the household duties. Martha, who was busy about 
the house, did not hear, and, missing the vision, chided 
her sister. In Martha and Mary, at the death and 
resurrection of their brother, Lazarus, we see that 
each one has learned what each one needed, to rightly 
interpret the task and the vision. 

Questions.— What can be said of Martha’s 
house? Give an account of a hostess’ treatment of 
her guest; the conditions of oppression of Martha; a 
direct complaint; a request for interference in a 
family affair; the rebuke of Jesus; the attitude of 
Mary. Give a reason for Martha’s action. What can 
be said of seeing life as a task; the Martha way? 
What can be said of seeing life as a vision; the Mary 
way? What can be said of linking up the task and 
the vision of life? The conclusion; as Jesus would 
have us see things. 


XVII 
MARY MAGDALENE 


A WOMAN OF LARGE SERVICE 


At the Front for Service—Mary Magdalene, 
with her band of women of which she was the head, 
occupies a very prominent place in the Gospel nar- 
rative. They were foremost in ministering to Jesus 
Christ of their substance and personal help, in His ag- 
gressive campaigns in Galilee. They were with His 
company on the last journey to Jerusalem. They 
stood by at the cross. They were at the tomb. Mary 
was the first to see Christ after He rose from the 
dead. They took the initiative in doing good works. 
They never spared themselves in their efforts to for- 
ward the cause in which they so thoroughly believed. 
This was something new for women. 

Mary was the Pioneer of the innumerable com- 
panies of modern women who are doing such a large 
service in supporting and pushing every good cause 
in our own day. In her time women were in seclu- 
sion. The place of the Oriental woman was in the 
rear. Through Mary’s example and leadership we 
now see woman “At the front for service” in the 
church, philanthropic, educational, social and other 
matters. Where the light of the Gospel does not 
shine we still see the women relegated to the rear. 
We too often forget these facts and their significance. 

Career of Mary Magdalene.—She is mentioned, 
by name, fourteen times in the Gospels—Luke 8: 2, 3; 
Matthew 27:55, 56; Mark 15:40, 41; John 19:25; 


Matthew 27:61; Matthew 28:1; Mark 15:47; Mark 
127 


128 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


16:1; Mark 16:9; compare Luke 24:10; John 20:1; 
John 20:11; John 20:16; John 20: 18. 

Leadership. A careful study of the above Scrip- 
ture passages reveals very clearly what Mary me and 
how she did it. 

In eight of the fourteen passages, where her name 
is mentioned, in connection with the other women, it 
always heads the list. This carefulness in always 
putting her name first must have been with the idea 
of showing her place at the front for service. 

In five of the fourteen, her name is mentioned 
alone. These are all concerned with the important 
fact of the first appearance of Christ to her, after 
He had risen from the dead—Mark 16:9; John 
5 8 SNS BES Raa 

In one of the fourteen, her name is mentioned after 
that of the mother and aunt of Jesus—John 19:25. 
This is where she stood close by the cross with these 
women, when Christ was crucified, and it would 
hardly have been right to have put her name before 
theirs. 

The Name, Magdalene, is derived from Migdol, a 
watch tower. The place is now known as Mejdel, at 
the south of the plain of Gennesaret, where the hills 
approach the lake. This was near the center of our 
Lord’s active ministry in Galilee. 

Character. It is hardly possible for Mary to have 
had her high standing and to have formerly led the 
life of what is known as a “ Magdalen.” 

The best New Testament scholars have entered a 
vigorous protest against the view of evil in Mary. 
They declare that she is not to be identified with the 
woman who was a sinner, in Luke 7: 37-50, even if 


Mary Magdalene 129 


her name does come into the narrative, in the next 
chapter, in Luke 8:1-3. They declare that de- 
moniacal possession, or a nervous disorder, of which 
she was cured by Christ, has nothing to do with bad- 
ness of character. Here is a trouble that disturbs the 
mind and not the morals of a person. That Mary 
was sincerely grateful for her cure is shown by what 
she tried to do for Christ and His cause. 

There are Five Situations in Which Mary’s 
Largeness of Service Stands Out.—Women, 
especially Orientals, are the quickest to detect moral 
lapses on the part of their fellows. They would not 
have suffered her to lead them as she did, if there 
had been the slightest failure here. 

She displays, in every situation, the very highest 
qualities of faith, fortitude, courage under trying cir- 
cumstances, and unselfish love. 

1—In Giving of Her Substance.—Sometimes 
women engaged in a cause, which they advocate most 
heartily, claim that, in giving their services free, they 
are, or ought to be, absolved from any pecuniary 
obligations. Not so Mary and her band. 

Read what she did. The campaign of Jesus was 
at its height. “And it came to pass afterward that 
he (Jesus) went through every city and _ village, 
preaching and showing the glad tidings of the king- 
dom of God and the twelve were with him, and cer- 
tain women which had been healed of evil spirits and 
infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, out of whom 
went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, 
Herod’s steward, and Susanna and many others which 
ministered unto him of their substance ”’—Luke 8: 1-3. 

Compare other passages where Mary’s name is 


130 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


mentioned as the first of the band and where like 
statements are made of these women ministering to 
Jesus—Matthew 27:55, 56; Mark 15: 40, 41. 

We never read of Jesus or His disciples taking up 
a collection or asking for money. Jesus is not re- 
corded as ever having performed a miracle for the 
benefit of Himself. But money was necessary, then 
as now, for the support of those engaged in proclaim- 
ing the glad tidings. 

Here we get a glimpse of generous women sup- 
plying campaign funds, without stint, for the carry- 
ing on of the work. It is expressly stated that they 
“Ministered unto him of their substance.” Doubt- 
less men contributed also but it was something new 
for women to give of their substance. There seems 
to have been no begging for money. Causes go very 
much better when people realize the need of funds 
and give without asking. These women had been 
benefited? Yes, certainly, but not all benefited ones 
are grateful. Christ once healed ten lepers and only 
one of them thanked Him. Mary was both grateful 
and generous. 

2—In Personal Ministrations.—In moving about 
from place to place, as Jesus and His disciples did, 
there were many things that had to be looked after 
for their personal comfort and well-being. Some 
people had to look after the details and see that every 
thing went right. The life was much in the open air 
with a multitude of men, women and children about, 
who were strange to each other. 

In order that there might be the right atmosphere, 
in which Christ could work, everything had to be kept 
in order and harmonious. In all this we see the work- 


Mary Magdalene 131 


ing of Mary and her devoted band of women, minis- 
tering not only of their substance but contributing 
much by their personal presence, in the best sort of 
management, for the best results. 

Would that this inside history, of which we get 
glimpses, might have been written out more in detail! 
There is also this same sort of inside history in every 
modern church, where things go well, because there 
are devoted women like Mary who go about quietly 
and effectively in doing things, that need to be done, 
and then say little or nothing about it. 

3—In Difficult Special Service.—Causes do not 
always go along smoothly no matter how well 
managed. The highest hopes are often disappointed. 
Jesus and His disciples in the latter part of His min- 
istry, come to the hard part of the way. 

Many of those whe seemed most heartily in His 
favour, turn their backs upon Him. Crowds no 
longer gather and hang upon His words. He has re- 
fused to pander to their worldly ambitions. Follow- 
ing Palm Sunday, when there has been a great 
demonstration in His favour in Jerusalem, He is ar- 
rested and tried for His life. It is a time of testing. 
Some of His most intimate friends and disciples leave 
Him. He is condemned to death on the cross. 

But Mary and her band do not desert Him. There 
is no defection in their ranks. They follow and stand 
probably as near the cross as they are allowed, al- 
though it seems ‘“ Afar off’—Matthew 27:55, 56. 
Physical suffering is not easy to look upon, yet these 
women braved that, if perchance Jesus should lift 
up His eyes, that He might see them. 

If we turn now to John 19:25 we notice that Mary 


132 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Magdalene is standing right by the cross, on which 
Jesus hangs in his death agony. She is with the 
mother and aunt of Jesus. What probably happened 
is this: Mary left the company of women, with which 
she was standing “ Afar off,’ and gradually, as the 
darkness came on, worked her way down to a peril- 
ous position by the cross. She will, it seems, have 
Jesus see that the leader of His band of women, upon 
which He has relied, has not deserted Him but will 
stand by to the last. What more devoted service 
could there be than this? 

Peter, the leader of the disciples, denied Christ at 
His trial, but Mary, the leader of the band of women, 
is right by the cross and cares not who sees her or 
identifies her with a lost cause, as it seems to be. 

4—In Keeping Up Hope and Courage.—Even 
after Christ dies on the cross, and His body is taken 
down to be put in the tomb, “ Mary Magdalene and 
the other Mary” take up a position near the tomb, 
Matthew 27:61, where they can see Jesus placed in 
His last earthly resting place. The disciples might 
have been there but there is no mention of it. 

It is Mary Magdalene and her band who will see 
that everything is done that ought to be done for the 
body of Jesus, after it is placed in the tomb—Luke 
23:55 to 24:1 and Matthew 28: 1. 

It is now that these women meet with an experience 
at first hand, which the world has not yet been able 
fully to grasp. The resurrection of Jesus! Who can 
understand this marvelous fact? We cannot wonder 
that these accounts, when everyone was trying to tell 
what was seen, are difficult to straighten out. In every 
great and startling event the same thing occurs and 


Mary Magdalene 133 


each one has a different story to tell, because each one 
sees a part and not the whole. 

It is quite evident that the women, headed by Mary 
Magdalene—Luke 24:1-10, found the tomb empty. 
We are told that they were much perplexed and were 
afraid. Just then two men, in shining garments, stood 
by them, telling them that Jesus had risen from the 
dead ; which doubtless perplexed them still more. But 
they did not express the doubt that the disciples did, 
Luke 24:10, 11. The accounts of Jesus’ appearances 
to His disciples, belong in another chapter. 

5—In Announcing the Greatest Good News 
That Has Ever Been Broadcast.—What could 
have been more fitting than that to Mary, and her 
faithful band of women, should have been given the 
task of first telling of the greatest event that the world 
has ever known!—Matthew 28 and Luke 24. They 
stood by when others had given up. They rendered a 
large service that meant not simply believing and 
working, when all was fair, but when there seemed 
not a ray of hope. 

To Mary, as the foremost of the faithful band, 
was given the signal honour of being the first one to 
see her risen Lord—John 20: 1-18. 

Questions.—What can be said of Mary Magda- 
lene? How was she a pioneer and in what? What 
can be said of her career ; how many times is she men- 
tioned ; leadership ; name; character? Describe the five 
situations in which Mary’s largeness of service stands 
out? 1—In giving of her substance? 2—TIn personal 
ministrations? 3—In difficult special service? 4—In 
keeping up hope and courage? 5—In announcing the 
greatest good news that has ever been broadcast? 


XVIII 
MOTHER OF JAMES AND JOHN 


AN AMBITIOUS WOMAN 


The Incident, of which this study is the expo- 
sition, is found in Matthew 20: 20-28. 

Jesus is on His last journey to Jerusalem. His 
disciples, the women who ministered to Him, and a 
great company, are with Him. 

The mother of James and John, apostles, comes to 
Him with the singular request that they sit, one upon 
His right hand, and the other on the left, when He is 
enthroned. The other apostles are indignant at this 
appeal, for -what seems to them, special favour. 
Jesus’ reply, in regard to the nature of true ambi- 
tion, is of more than passing interest. If it is ever 
universally accepted, and adopted, it will produce a 
radical change for betterment. 

Salome, the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of 
his children, seems to have been a follower of Jesus 
from the beginning of His career. 

She was an able and energetic woman of fine 
character. She was not a woman who kept her re- 
ligion to herself but taught her sons in the way. Her 
example and teaching were such that they were glad 
to go along with their mother. There is a depth of 
devotion, a wide range of vision, and a joyousness in 
the writings of her sons which show that they were 
not forced into their religion but led by a mother who 
understood her boys. She was a faithful follower of 
Jesus Christ up to the very end—Matthew 27: 56; 


Mark 15: 40, 41; Mark 16: 1. 
134 


Mother of James and John 135 


The Family Life was a Happy One.—Here 
were people who were not poor and not rich. Zeb- 
edee, the father, owned fishing boats and nets. He 
had hired servants—Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19, 20. 
His sons worked with him until they were called to 
follow Jesus. It is not difficult to read between the 
lines of the harmony in this family in regard to what 
they did. 

Capernaum, where the family lived, was no mean 
city. It was enough to stir any one’s ambition to live 
here. It was at a world’s crossroads. Caravans passed 
and repassed from the most distant centers of popu- 
lation. It was at the junction of four great central 
ways from Arabia, Egypt, Tyre and Damascus. 
What ever happened, in the world at large, was soon 
known in this city. It possessed a Roman garrison 
and was the headquarters for Roman government and 
taxation in all Galilee. 

It was the principal place on the lake of Galilee, 
the shores of which were covered thickly with small 
cities and Roman villas. Jesus Christ made it His 
headquarters after His rejection at Nazareth. He 
could reach more people, and reach them more ef- 
fectively, from this city than from any other place. 
Here He could talk about the world-wide nature of 
His kingdom with a large freedom, and this talk, 
with the surroundings, is evidently what stirred Sa- 
lome to make her startling request. 

An Ambitious Woman.—In what way? For 
what ? 

There are many types of women in the Bible. Be- 
cause a woman’s name is here is no sign that she is 
to be commended or condemned. 


136 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Their stories are given and the mirror held up. © 
It is for us to say how we like their looks. We have 
bad women like Jezebel and Delilah and there can be © 
no worse. Good women like Ruth and Hannah. 
Able women like Deborah and Esther. Cruel women 
like Herodias and her daughter. ‘Here they are, rich, 
poor, wise, ignorant, proud, humble, foolish, kindly 
and the reverse. 

There is a whole host of them. They antedate by 
hundreds of years, modern characters yet, in other 
lands and under different circumstances, talk and act 
just like them. This is the value of this Bible study 
of women, because we can always find a type in the 
Scriptures of any modern woman, and see how she 
acted and we may be quite sure, under the guise of 
our present-day civilization, she will run true to the 
old form. Human nature seems to be the same in all 
lands and in all ages. 

How does Salome look to us? 

Ambition. There are almost as many kinds of am- 
bition as there are types of women in the Bible. It 
plays no small part in the affairs of women as well 
as men. It seeks high and low objects and with al- 
most equal enthusiasm. It leads to the heights of’ 
honour, and to the depths of degradation. It is right 
and it is wrong. It is noble and it is ignoble. 

It all depends upon the motive and the object 
sought. Ambition, the desire and determination, to 
go ahead and to accomplish things, is a means to an 
end. 

In itself it is a necessity if anyone is to get any- 
where. The chief question is of its right employment. 

The Great Request of Salome that her sons 


Mother of James and John 187 


should occupy the chief places, in the coming kingdom 
of Christ, was a very ambitious one. In this request 
she was seconded by James and John. They seemed 
to feel, if we read the narrative rightly, not the slight- 
est reluctance or embarrassment in doing as they did. 

How did she come to ask for this honour? | 

First. Consider Salome herself. She was a 
woman with a fine mind. She had a deeply ‘devo- 
tional nature. She was endowed with large vision. 
She lived in no mean city where news came from the 
ends of the earth. She was accustomed to think in 
the large terms of the Roman empire. All the facts 
of her life point this way. She could realize on the 
future in a way in which few can. We are too prone 
to try to cramp the Bible characters back into small 
conceptions of things when we are told differently 
by the writers of the Gospel narratives. Here was 
fertile soil for a large ambition. 

Second. Christ himself. He constantly talked 
about the largeness of His kingdom; “ The Kingdom 
of God” and “ The Kingdom of Heaven.” He never 

spoke of “ The Kingdom of the Jews.” His Gospel 
was to be world-wide. He did not speak of preach- 
“ing to any one particular nation, but “ All nations.” 
His was to be a universal and an everlasting kingdom. 
The Gospels are full of references to Christ’s King- 
dons Viattueweat ec fon lle tbe Sills Mat- 
thew 523397221 Luke..9: 62: John:3: 33: Parables 
of the Kingdom, Matthew 13. See also Matthew 24 
and 25. He said to His disciples at the last, “Go ye 
therefore and teach all nations,’ Matthew 28: 19. 
See also Luke 24:47, 48 and Acts 1:8. The largest 
possible conception of His mission is given repeatedly 


138 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


to His followers, not privately but publicly. This was 
the seed that fell into the fertile soil of Salome’s mind. 

The Circumstances of the Request. Christ and His 
company were going up to Jerusalem. It was His last 
journey, just before His trial and crucifixion which 
He plainly foretold—Matthew 20: 17-19. 

Notwithstanding what Christ said of His cruci- 
fixion, it might have seemed to Salome, the mother 
of Zebedee’s children, that, in some way and some- 
how, His kingdom, of which she had heard so much, 
would be realized in the sacred city of Jerusalem. It 
might have been also that she had been so fired with 
the idea of the greatness of Christ’s kingdom and 
had seen Him do so many wonderful things that it 
seemed to her that there could be no failure. She 
could not see the necessity for this step of crucifixion 
and death and resurrection in order that the largeness 
of the kingdom might be realized. 

Hence her great ambition that her sons might rule 
with Christ, one sitting on the right and the other on 
the left hand. It shows her faith, and its strength, 
that she asked for what she did at the time she did. 

The Indignation of the Apostles—Some New 
Testament scholars think that some of this indigna- 
tion came from the fact that they had not thought to 
make this request first. They certainly expressed 
themselves vigorously against Salome and her sons. 
It may have seemed to them that she had taken an 
undue advantage. 

The Answer of Christ to the request. He asks 
James and John if they are able to endure with Him 
the hardships of the kingdom in drinking of His cup 
of woe and being baptized with His baptism. They 


Mother of James and John 139 


reply that they are. He then replies that they will 
drink of His cup and be baptized with His baptism, 
but that the seats on His right and left are not His to 
bestow upon them, but that the Father will give them 
to those for whom they are prepared. | 

He now seems to gather to Him His apostles and © 
Salome, and to talk to them on the true nature of His | 
kingdom and the proper kind of ambition that should } 
be exercised toward it. 

First. Christ speaks of the selfish ambition that 
gets into the hearts of men and drives them on to get 
all they can, in all the ways they can, for themselves, 
and themselves only, without a thought or care for 
others. In this He uses the illustration of the princes 
of the Gentiles who exercise authority for gain. Here 
is raised the whole question of the desire to exploit 
others to get on in the world. He points out the dan- 
ger involved. 

Second. He speaks of the motive of a true am- 
bition and what should govern it. This underlies the 
“Sermon on the Mount” and His whole Gospel. It 
is all summed up in one word, “ Serve.” It is minis- 
tering for others. It is looking out for others as you 
look out for yourself and your own interests—* Who- 
soever will be great among you, let him be your 
minister ; And whosoever will be chief among you, let 
him be your servant; Even as the Son of man came 
not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give 
his life a ransom for many ”—Matthew 20: 25-28. 

The Rule of the Christ, the third (see below), 
which He presented to Salome and her sons, is the 
only one which can bring happiness. 

There are three classes of people in the world and 


140 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


if you look you can find them with very little difficulty. 
They are each using a certain rule of life. 

First Rule. Get all you can and give back as little 
as you can. This is the brass rule of life. It works 
for hardship and misery always. For the person who 
uses it, is almost sure to be repaid in kind, but he does 
not like his own rule applied to himself. 

Second Rule. Give an exact equivalent. For a 
kind word, give a kind word. For a hard word, give 
one back. Get even with everyone. Do not let any 
one get the better of you. Watch out and see that 
you get your dues, no matter who suffers. Push for 
the first place, no matter who is hurt, so long as you 
get it; for is not everyone doing it? This is getting 
even. 

Third Rule. Do a little more than is expected of 
you. Bea little kinder than the man next to you, than 
he is to you. Go out of your way to do a favour 
where no one thinks of your doing it. No one thought 
of Jesus Christ coming to this earth to save men or 
help them in any way. See John 3:16. This third 
rule is the very heart of Christ’s advice on ambition— 
“Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your 
servant ”—Matthew 20: 26, 27. 

Questions.— What can be said of the incident of 
which this study is an exposition? What can be said 
of Salome? What was the family life? Describe 
Capernaum. What can be said of an ambitious 
woman? What was the great request of Salome; the 
first and second points and the circumstances? The 
indignation of the apostles? The answer of Christ; 
the first and second points? The rule of Christ, con- 
trast the first and second with the third, 


XIX 
DORCAS 


A PHILANTHROPIC WOMAN 


The Fame of Dorcas, as a worker in the phil- 
anthropic field, has filled the whole world with its 
fragrance. 

This woman’s movement, for the good of others, 
in unselfish service, begun in the little city of Joppa, 
has flowed out beyond the bounds of the early church 
into a multitude of benevolent and charitable organ- 
izations. In these, women have been the most 
prominent. 

Let us give credit, where credit is due, to this 
woman disciple whose religious belief impelled her 
to organize this sort of work which was unknown 
and uncared for before her time. 

The Story, of “ Good works and almsdeeds,” 
very brief. It is comprised in seven short verses in 
the Book of Acts—9: 36-42. 

“Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named 
Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas; 
this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds 
which she did. And it came to pass in those days, 
that she was sick and died; whom when they had 
washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And 
for as much as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the 
disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent 


unto him two men, desiring him that he would not 
141 


142 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went 
with them. When he was come, they brought him 
into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by 
him weeping, and showing the coats and garments 
which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But 
Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and 
prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha 
arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw 
Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and 
lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and 
widows, presented her alive. And it was known 
throughout all Joppa and many believed in the Lord.” 

The Ancient City of Joppa was about thirty- 
five miles from Jerusalem. It was never very large. 
It was built on a rocky eminence about 116 feet above 
the level of the sea. The remains of the house of 
Tabitha are pointed out to the traveler who visits this 
place. 

Standing in Life—Judging from the narrative, 
that of Dorcas must have been good. She was evi- 
dently a woman who owned her own home and had 
sufficient money to do as she liked. She does not 
seem to have had any near relatives. In fact no 
relative is mentioned. When she died quite suddenly, 
and had been properly laid out, the widows, whom she 
had helped, crowded the upper room where she was. 
Peter, the apostle, having been sent for, soon made 
his appearance and was shown the coats and gar- 
ments which had been made by this good woman and 
given away. This was a fine eulogy of her practical 
work. When Peter had restored Tabitha to life, she 
doubtless continued in the same way of good deeds. 

What She Did and How.—She was an inten- 


Dorcas 143 


sive worker. She took up a particular cause, in a 
special way, and put her whole heart, and all her 
energy into it. Nothing is said of her faith, save that 
she was “A certain disciple.” There is no account 
of her conversion. Our attention is held, strictly, to 
her eminence in “ Almsdeeds and good works”’ and 
here she is pre-eminent. Faith is shown in action. ) 

Work in Her Own Home.—When we read the 
Gospels and Acts, we cannot help but note the fact 
of the constant moving about from place to place, 
and city to city, of the early Christian workers. They 
never seem to be still. They come and they go. They 
accomplish great things in this way. The impression 
might be easily gained that this is the only way of do- 
ing what ought to be done in the carrying out of the 
commands of the Christ. 

Here is shown another way. Dorcas remained in 
her own home, where the possibilities were very 
limited. There seemed to be no wide outlook. 

If she ever longed for a larger sphere of action it 
is not evident in her story. Here was her standing 
place from which she would move the world. She 
was not without ambition to do large things but it 
was an ambition to stand just where she was and do 
them most effectively. 

A new note is sounded, in the Gospel proclamation, 
of intensive home work. 

Cheerfulness.—There are those who do their 
whole duty in a limited sphere but to them it is 
a hard and rigorous one. There is no joy in it. 
Those who come in contact with such women feel this 
rigour. 

Dorcas was a woman of good cheer. How do we 


144 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


know? Because of the action of the widows. A 
good deed may be like throwing a bone to a dog which 
hits him. The dog resents it while feeling compelled 
to take the bone. Benevolence of this sort gets no 
thanks. When Dorcas died the widows crowded 
around weeping and showing the garments which she 
had made. Here was the response that comes from 
cheerfulness, in giving, and can come in no other way. 

A real philanthropist gets.as close as she can to the 
subject of her good deed. This is, in fact, the only 
true philanthropy. It is the only kind that elicits any 
real gratitude. 

Plying Her Own Needle.—The widows showed 
the coats and garments which Dorcas had made with 
her own hands. This was personal work. It re- 
quired thought and care. She put into what she did 
something of herself. There are those who give to 
benevolences out of more or less abundant means. 
They can easily spare what they give. The check is sent 
and there is rather a warm glow about the heart that 
something has been done to relieve some one poorer off 
than themselves. But there is no personal touch in 
it. It is not known exactly where the money goes or 
how it is spent. 

Dorcas seems to have had a personal acquaintance 
with those for whom she made garments. These 
garments were not gathered up, as “ Castoffs,” but 
were made and fitted by the donor. That they were 
well made, and looked well on those who wore them, 
is evident from the pride with which the widows 
showed them to Peter. No woman cares to exhibit 
an ill fitting garment to anyone. Doubtless the 


Dorcas 145 


widows had come to Dorcas’ home and had “ Try- 
ons.” 

Here is a fundamental principle, in philanthropy, 
that the gift should be fitted to the one who is to re- 
ceive it. The neglect of this principle is the cause 
of much dissatisfaction. The donor wonders why 
her gift is received with so little gratitude and the re- 
cipient is out of sorts because she cannot make use of 
that which has been given. 

Leadership.—One of the most stressed things 
in our day is “ Leadership.” Our young women are 
exhorted to strive to be leaders and to fit themselves 
for it. It is an appeal which makes a strong impres- 
sion on pride. The many forms of social and phil- 
anthropic service are the chosen fields pointed out 
for leadership. In this leadership the chosen one is 
to plan and lay out the work, while others are to fol- 
low and carry out her directions. This idea is very 
attractive and wins many. 

The great trouble is to get followers for all the 
leaders who are trained for it. We are raising up 
an army of generals in which there are no privates. 
The disappointment of the generals, who get no army 
to lead, is naturally great. 

Dorcas did not aspire to be a leader. She just did 
the philanthropic work in her own house which was 
right at her hand. Her ambition seems to have been 
to do all that she could in all the ways that she could. 
In this way, in spite of herself, she has become a great 
woman leader in philanthropic work. She was the 
great pioneer. In this short narrative of her life and 
work are to be found the great principles on which 
this work is to be done, if it is successful. 


146 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


All real leadership is and must be founded on per- 
sonal service. It cannot be taught entirely in the 
schools. It must be established on great qualities of 
heart and mind. These qualities, exercised for the 
good of humanity, lift one to true leadership. This is 
the cause of the exaltation of Dorcas. She did not 
lift herself up but was lifted up by the intensity of 
her devotion to an ideal which found the highest ser- 
vice starting right in her own home. The life his- 
tory of every great leader, points out this.as the way. 

Friendship.—Little good can be done in phil- 
anthropic work without the establishment of friendly 
relations between the giver and the recipient of the 
gift. Where articles, or money, are given without 
these friendly relations, they may relieve physical 
wants; they do; but they pauperize the spirit and 
make, in the end, the condition of the recipient worse 
than it was before. Those who come to ask for 
things are not helped in any real way and benevolence 
becomes a positive harm. This is now everywhere 
acknowledged. 

Dorcas established friendly relations between her- 
self and those whom she helped out of their difficul- 
ties. The widows would never have come and wept 
over her, after she was dead, if this had not been the 
case. They, if there had been no friendly relations, 
would have remained away. With Dorcas dead, there 
was nothing more to be hoped for. Again they 
thought so much of Dorcas, who had done so much 
for them, that they sent for Peter to see if he could 
not help them, and he did. 

The aid in true friendship is as much, if not more, 
than any material assistance that can be given. 


Dorcas 147 


A Great Opportunity came to Dorcas, right in 
her own home, in a small city of Palestine. She is 
known throughout the world as the organizer of 
the Dorcas Society for the exercise of the New Phil- 
anthropy ; but Dorcas did not start out to found any 
new society. She seemed, in fact, unconscious of the 
splendid work which she was doing. She wanted to 
do something for her Lord and just did that which 
first came to her hand, and did it in the most simple 
way. This is the sort of thing, after all, that is going 
to raise humanity to a higher level. It is just doing 
the thing next at hand and doing it to thé*best of our 
ability, that is the great opportunity for all of us. 

Questions.—What can be said of the fame of 
Dorcas? Where is her story found? Give the story. 
Give her standing in life. What did she do and how 
did she do it? What can be said of her work in her 
own home? What of her cheerfulness? What can be 
said of her plying her needle? What of her leader- 
ship? What of friendship? What can be said of 
her great opportunity? 


XX 
MARY, MOTHER OF MARK 
AN INFLUENTIAL CHURCH WORKER 


There are a number of Marys mentioned in the 
Gospels, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magda- 
lene and others, but Mary, the mother of Mark, is 
spoken of. but once, Acts 12:12; “And when he 
(Peter) had considered the thing, he came to the 
house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname 
was Mark; where many were gathered together pray- 
ing.” This brief description tells us a good deal about 
her life, character and work. Read Acts 12: 1-19. 

There was a Crisis in the career of Christianity. 
It is told in the twelfth chapter of Acts. At the first, 
everything seemed to go well. Large numbers of 
people gave their allegiance to The Christ. The Jews 
became alarmed. “ The Crucified One” seemed to 
be making greater progress than when He was on 
earth. A persecution arose which had for its object, 
the stamping out of this religion. James, the brother 
of John, was killed with the sword. Then Peter, who 
was the head and front of the Christ movement, was 
taken and put in prison. 

The Turning Point, for Better Things, was in 
the house of Mary, the mother of Mark. This ener- 
getic and forceful woman was not content to let things 
drift. She, when she saw how affairs were moving, 


seems to have summoned the leading Christians in the 
148 


Mary, Mother of Mark 149 


city to her home, and laid the situation before them. 
It was a time to try their souls. So far as bringing 
any pressure to bear for the release of Peter, they 
were helpless. James had been killed and Peter 
seemed destined to bear the same fate. I{ matters 
went on, as they were going, few, if any, Christians 
would be left. 

Long and earnest debate might have taken place in 
regard to what to do and how to do it. Mary, the 
leading spirit in this conference, as she is the only 
person mentioned, doubtless suggested the appeal to 
a “ Higher Power ” above that of the persecutors and 
Herod, the king. 

This appeal was made. Most earnest prayer was 
offered up for Peter’s release. Even while they 
prayed Peter was let out of prison and came knock- 
ing at the door of the gate. Such a sudden and start- 
ling answer to their prayers was, at first, unbelievable. 
But Peter continued knocking until they were con- 
vinced of his presence. 

The success of this prayer meeting, in the home of 
this influential church worker, cannot be over- 
estimated. We turn to the next chapter, the thir- 
teenth, and read of the beginning of the mighty mis- 
sionary movement that has encircled the earth. 

The House of Mary was of some considerable 
size. This is argued from the fact that “ Many were 
gathered together praying.” It was quite a large 
household with a number of maids of whom Rhoda, 
who went to answer Peter’s knocking at the door, was 
but one. It is supposed that Mary was a widow with 
means. The location, doubtless a prominent one, was 
well known. There is an old tradition that this house 


150 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


was the scene of “ The Last Supper.” The hospi- 
tality of Mary was well known to Peter. When he 
was released from prison, he made his way at once 
to this home where he was sure of receiving a wel- 
come and of finding his friends. 

Forceful Character—Mary was brought up, 
bound in all the traditions of Oriental women. By 
these she must be veiled when she goes abroad. She 
must live in a certain seclusion. As a widow, she 
must only receive women into her home. She must 
not take part in public affairs. On no account must 
she make her home a public-meeting place. When 
she became a Christian she broke utterly with these 
traditions. 

She makes her home a rallying place for what was 
to many a despised sect. She is a propagandist for 
that in which she believes. She holds this new faith 
not as a means of breaking down an old one, but as 
a step by which to go on up to higher and better 
things. She sees in the new freedom, which has come 
to her, not an avenue to license to do that which is 
unlawful, but as a new way for a larger happiness 
to everyone. The natural strength of her character 
now has an opportunity to reveal itself under her pro- 
fession of Christ. 

The High Position which Mary attained would 
have been possible under no other religion and under 
no other circumstances. This Christian religion, at 
once, began her emancipation and made her a leader 
in the affairs of life. We see women coming to the 
front to-day for the same reason. They are winning 
the high places as church, professional, industrial, 
commercial, social and civic workers because of what 


Mary, Mother of Mark 151 


Christ said and did for them. To be sure some of 
them may say that they have attained these through 
other means but the fact remains true that it is only 
under the Christian religion that women have these 
large opportunities. 

Courage—We must not forget that it took 
great bravery to do what Mary did. She had to 
take her stand with a comparatively few against what 
public opinion allowed and did not allow for women. 
She might have secretly professed Christianity and 
let it go at that. But to come out and to take an 
active part, as she did, was quite another matter. 
She must have alienated many old time friends. The 
big house and the wealth which Mary had were ob- 
stacles in the way of her taking an active part. She 
probably invited confiscation of property and forfeit 
of her life by her Christian activity, but she was not 
to be deterred. 

The instance given, in Acts 12:12, shows this 
courage, of this rare sort, in a very interesting way. 
Mary opened her home to a public meeting for her 
fellow Christians when a great persecution was at 
its height and Christianity seemed about to perish 
from the earth. Some think that the hesitation of 
Rhoda, who went to the door when Peter, coming 
from prison, knocked for admission, was due to the 
fact that she thought it was the soldiers of Herod, 
who had come to arrest those in the house. 

Inspirer of Men Who Did Valiant Service.— 
We know some of the things that came out of the 
house of Mary. Weare quite certain of them. Some 
of them we have set down. Note this list of men: 


152 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Peter. How much did Mary influence him and en- 
courage him? We know this that he must have been 
encouraged by her, for he, when he was released from 
prison, at once made his way to her home. 

Mark. Her own son. He went on the first mis- 
sionary journey with Barnabas and Saul, afterwards 
called Paul. [He was with Peter on his travels. He 
was also, at another time, with Paul. He wrote, 
as the interpreter of Peter, what is known as the 
Gospel of Mark. He certainly had an opportunity 
to know about things, at first hand, in his mother’s 
home. | 

Barnabas. Mary’s nephew. He was very active 
in the days of the beginnings of the Christian Church. 
He went to Tarsus and got Saul to go to Antioch, 
where he did such a wonderful work. He went on 
the first missionary journey with Saul. He, after- 
wards, went on a mission himself. 

We only get a glimpse of this work with and for 
men by Mary, but it is enough to show its exceed- 
ingly great importance. 

Originator of the Home Prayer Meeting.—Was 
she? It certainly looks like it. Christ spoke in the 
Jewish synagogues and out in the open. The apostles 
and early Christian teachers sought at first to speak 
in the synagogues, but the radical differences de- 
veloped soon caused them to seek the homes of their 
disciples and to build churches. But Mary wanted 
the Christian service in her own home. She evi- 
dently had confidence in what could be done with a 
“Home Prayer Meeting.” Her confidence was 
justified. This meeting as a means of getting and 
transmitting spiritual power cannot be overestimated, 


Mary, Mother of Mark 153 


The writers of the epistles frequently speak of these 
meetings or “ House Churches.” 

Interpreter of the Ideals of Love, Loyalty and 
Service.—If Mary had been possessed of scant 
love she would not have undertaken the hazardous 
service of opening her home to a persecuted sect. She 
was loyal to her Christian ideals. She did not falter 
in her service, although she knew that it might lead 
to the destruction of all she had and forfeiting her 
life. 

The truest, strongest women of which any com- 
munity may boast are, for the most part, those who 
give to the church self-sacrificing thought and time 
and effort in the service of their Lord and their fel- 
low men and women. This work is done in many 
ways in the church, Sunday school, and social service. 

Questions.—Are there other Marys mentioned 
in the Gospels? How many times is Mary, the 
mother of Mark, spoken of? What can be said of 
the crisis of Christianity, at this time? When and 
where was the turning point for better things? What 
can be said of the house of Mary? Describe the 
forceful character of Mary. What can be said of her 
high position; her courage? How is she the inspirer 
of men? Was she the originator of the home prayer 
meeting? What can be said of Mary as an inter- 
preter of the ideals of love, loyalty and service? 


XXI 
LYDIA 


A BUSINESS WOMAN 


Lydia was a successful business woman in a 
prosperous city. She was the forerunner of the 
modern business and professional woman. They, the 
old and new types, have the same characteristics ; 
alert, capable, knowing what they want to do and do- 
ing it with large ability, enthusiasm, and singleness 
of purpose. 

Read the story in Acts 16:12-40 and speciaily 
verses 12, 13, 14, 15 and 40. 

Birthplace.—Thyatira, a city of one of the 
provinces of Asia. This was her dwelling place for 
a number of years. 

Occupation.—“ A seller of purple.” She doubt- 
less removed from her native city in order that she 
might enlarge her business. 

The Opportunity in Thyatira was Small, for a 
dealer, as it was a manufacturing city. It was famous 
for its extensive dye works. “ Purple was a favourite 
colour with the ancients. This included shades ranging 
all the way from rose red to sea green and blue. The 
dye which yielded the colouring matter was pro- 
cured from the gland of a certain shell fish. Lydia 
may have been merchandising the dye or the cloth, 
which had passed through the colouring process, or 


both.” 
154 


Lydia 155 


The Opportunity in Philippi was Large, for a 
dealer, as it was a big commercial city. It was the 
metropolis of Macedonia. It was a good copy of 
Rome in its architecture, life and manners. As a 
meeting place of the East and West it was daily 
visited by throngs of strangers who came and went 
by the great Egnatian Highway. Lydia showed her 
excellent business sense in coming to this city where 
she could reach so many more people. 

Here she prospered greatly. She was able to do a 
large business in spite of keen competition. 

A Woman in Business was a thing unheard of 
for an Oriental. But Lydia in turning to Judaism 
had adopted an entirely different set of ideals as to 
what a woman could and could not do. Every avenue 
of life was now open to her. She had before her the 
picture of the possibilities of a business life for a 
woman as it had been depicted, long before her time, 
in the Book of Proverbs, 31: 10-31. Here a woman 
is described, not only as a good housekeeper, but as 
buying and selling on her own account without con- 
sulting anyone. She manufactures goods. She deals 
in real estate. She gives her opinion on affairs and 
it is heeded. While she is a good wife and mother, 
she is also an important factor in all that goes on 
outside. 

Religion.—Lydia not only had a keen business 
mind by which she was able to meet and overcome the 
sharp competition of the Philippian traders, but also 
a deeply spiritual nature which she allowed to control 
her. She took her religion seriously. It was some- 
thing to be looked after as closely as her business in- 
terests, | 


156 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


First, We Meet with Her as 1 Jewish Proselyte. 
We do not know when she became a convert but she 
was very much in earnest about it. That there were 
so few Jews in Philippi that they were unable to have 
a synagogue made no difference to Lydia. She found 
a few women of this faith and with them she went to 
the river bank, out of the city, and held a service of 
worship and prayer. 

It took moral courage to shut up her shop, when 
everyone else kept open, and go with so few to keep 
the Sabbath day. She might very easily have said 
that she could worship in her own heart and be in 
readiness for any trade that came her way, with an 
open shop. But that was not her way. If her 
religion was worth anything, it was worth every- 
thing to her. 

Second, We See Her as a Christian Convert. Paul, 
on his second missionary journey, came to Philippi, 
searching for a large center of population where he 
might preach the Gospel. It was the policy then to 
attack the strongholds, the great cities, and having 
planted the seed, to let it grow large and spread to the 
surrounding country. Christianity was not at all 
timid in making its claims known. It was bold and 
aggressive because it was believed that it had the only 
life giving power through its Christ. But Paul could 
not find any Jewish synagogue in the city and the syn- 
agogue was the place where he usually began his cam- 
paign. He was forced to go out of the city to find 
anything resembling a place of worship of God and 
here he found Lydia with a few women. Her “ Heart 
the Lord opened that she attended unto the things 
which were spoken of Paul,” 


Lydia 157 


She has the honour of being the first European 
convert ; the forerunner of a great host who have done 
valiant service for their Master. She was whole- 
hearted in her conversion. She, at once, wanted to 
do something to help and invited Paul and his com- 
pany to be her guests. 

Environment.—It was bad. There was no en- 
couragement for religion or morality in Philippi. As 
Rome had lost her faith in her gods, so this city. 
Death was regarded as an eternal sleep. There was 
no hereafter to be dreaded or hoped for. The policy 
was to live while you live and to squeeze all the pleas- 
ure possible out of this world; it was forgotten that in 
doing this that it was the doer who suffered. 

The amusements, for the people, in the city amphi- 
theater were cruel to the last degree ; men fought with 
_ wild beasts, and with their fellow men, to the death. 
The people, with their depraved tastes, demanded this 
sort of thing. Morality was a jest. 

It was no easy thing for a prominent woman mer- 
chant to stand out against this, but Lydia did it. She 
seems to have prospered wonderfully in her business 
as she did in her religion. There is much in being 
true to one’s principles; for they command the re- 
spect of those who have no principles of their own. 

Lydia was not a product of her environment. 

Faithfulness and Humility.—It is sometimes 
said that contact with the world of business hardens 
women and that they lose their charm as women. 
They are disillusionized in many ways and they show 
their disillusionment. Lydia had no easy proposition 
along this line. She dealt with men who gave no 
quarter. 


158 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


Lydia witnesses for herself as to how she kept her 
charm of faithfulness and humility. The writer of 
The Acts says—‘“ And when she was baptized, and 
her household, she besought us saying, If ye have 
judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my 
house and abide there. And she constrained us.’”’ She 
might have assumed an entirely different attitude of 
arrogance and told Paul that he ought to consider 
himself honoured to be invited to the home of one of 
the leading merchants of the city. 

All honour to this woman living and doing business 
in this city, that she did not lose her womanliness. 

Dependability—There are many men _ and 
women expert in business. They profess to be just in 
their dealings. They are shrewd buyers and sellers. 
They understand thoroughly the goods in which they 
deal. They are fine judges of values, but those who ~ 
deal with them are very wary in regard to what they 
say about their goods. They have all knowledge, but 
use that knowledge to get the better of their cus- 
tomers. They are not to be depended upon. 

Lydia must have been an excellent judge of goods 
and of values. She had to be to do business and suc- 
ceed in Philippi. The fine thing about the narrative 
of this woman is the atmosphere of dependability. 
You feel that if you had lived in those times in that 
city that you could have gone into the store of Lydia 
and said, “I want so much of purple dye, I have so 
much money to spend. You take this money and give 
me its value.” You would have been sure that you 
would get all the dye that was coming to you and a 
little more. We begin to see why Lydia was so suc- 
cessful and why she held her customers, even if she 


Lydia 159 


did not do as others and keep open on her Sabbath. 

She was thoroughly reliable and that sort of repu- 
tation pays large dividends in business and in religion. 
She stood by Paul and Silas under adverse conditions. 
Right after “ The River Bank Meeting” they went 
to prayer again, probably the next day, and on the 
way they healed a half demented girl. For this good 
act they were cast into prison and their feet made fast 
in the stocks. On being released in the morning, 
Lydia is on hand with the offer of her home for them. 
She could be depended upon to stand by when mis- 
fortune came upon her friends. 

Cheerfulness.—Life presents many hard as- 
pects. Business is beset with thorny difficulties. We 
cannot escape these things. They are always present. 
Especially does a life of business, for a woman, tend 
to wipe from her face the cheerful smile. There are 
so many things to irk her, even in modern days, where 
so many women are employed in stores and offices. 
The low wages and the long hours for some make a 
rocky pathway wherein to walk. But the situation is 
never helped by the glooms; it is only made worse. 

Here, in this narrative, we notice again another 
element, and that is of cheerfulness. There is no word 
of the hardships which beset Lydia. If she had them, 
as had them she must, they are not mentioned. There 
is no word of complaint of being compelled to wor- 
ship on the river bank. 

When Paul and Silas are put in prison for doing a 
good deed, after the conversion of Lydia, they sing 
songs. Strange, is it not, that these men beaten, with 
their feet bound fast in the stocks, should sing songs! 

Self-Respect.—Lydia had come up from Thya- 


160 Studies of Famous Bible Women 


tira, her home town, where every one knew her, and 
where she was under certain restraints, to Philippi to 
business on a larger scale. She might have said that 
this is a great city where things are done in a dif- 
ferent way and I can just let my old scruples go. 
Then, too, I want to get new business and I must work 
for it in all the ways I can, even if I go to places 
where I ought not. 

The call and the lure of Bohemia Land is just as 
loud and strong as it ever was. The mocking laughter 
that greets those who refuse to enter is just as loud, if 
not louder, than ever. Why not yield? Why persist 
in puritan principles and scruples? There were wits 
in those days who doubtless made a lot of sport of 
Lydia, who would go to a prayer meeting on a river 
bank instead of going with them to Bohemia Land. 
But there seemed to be no regrets on Lydia’s part 
that she did not go. It was no hardship for her to 
stay away. Her safeguards were inside, not outside. 

She knew, apart from business and religious 
reasons, that the one great thing lost in Bohemia 
Land is one’s own respect. One is never the same 
after losing that immediate jewel of the soul. When 
one fails to respect one’s self, there is not much left. 

Questions.— What can he said about Lydia as 
a successful business woman? Birthplace? Occupa- 
tion? A woman in business? What can be said of 
Lydia’s religion? Lydia as a Jewish proselyte? As 
a Christian convert? What can be said of the en- 
vironment of Lydia? Her faithfulness and humility? 
Her dependability? Her cheerfulness? Her self- 
respect? 

THE END 





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GAYLORD 


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